


The Book of Gabriel

by 29PiecesOfMe



Series: Angel Wings [3]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Absent Parents, Action/Adventure, Alternate History, Alternate Universe, Angel Family, Angel Mating, Angel War, Angel Wings, Angels, Angst, Archangels, BAMF Gabriel (Supernatural), Big Brother Gabriel, Brother Feels, Brotherly Love, F/M, Family Drama, Fluff, Heaven, Hurt/Comfort, In the Beginning, Michael Being A Dick, OC Angel - Freeform, Prequel, Romance, Sigils, Soulmates, Trickster Gabriel, war in heaven
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-26
Updated: 2017-08-30
Packaged: 2018-10-24 03:34:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 70,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10733286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/29PiecesOfMe/pseuds/29PiecesOfMe
Summary: In the beginning, Gabriel fell in love. It went downhill from there. A Gabriel-centric fic featuring the untold story of angels and demons, love and war, betrayal and sacrifice, angst and devotion, and bonds that survive eternity.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> So funny story, I sat down one day and thought "I should write a fluffy little romance bit for Gabriel." Nothing too big. Maybe 3, 4 chapters at the most.
> 
> 20 chapters and an epilogue later, I'm pretty sure that plot bunny was laughing at me the whole time, and I blame it entirely on Gabriel! This went from fluffy romance to all out, full scale adventure/drama/angst/romance/family/whump/comfort story of Gabriel's life! facepalm. Thanks, Gabe.  
> This is both prequel and sequel to the other fics in the Angel Wings AU, due to the span of time this story covers. Headcanons regarding angel's wings and sigils are included! 
> 
> A massive thanks goes out to the best beta reader I could have asked for, Aini NuFire, without whom this would have never been able to happen! Check out her fics for some WONDERFUL family feels and H/C between Team Free Will!
> 
> Canon characters belong to Eric Kripke and the SPN writers.

Gabriel could pinpoint the precise moment that he had fallen in love with her.

He was neither the first nor the only angel to fall in love, though it wasn't common and it wasn't widely thought of as "love". After all, Gabriel loved _all_ of the other angels. They were his brothers and sisters, in a manner of speaking, all created by the same God. But there was something about Eleanor. Something… more. Something special.

He'd been minding his own business – really, he _was_ , he was completely innocent and already had an alibi prepared for when Michael discovered that someone had been teaching dirty words to the fledglings – and out of nowhere, he had heard music.

Gabriel was never one to let his curiosity go unsatisfied. Baffled, he followed the sound of the music and there she had been.

Eleanor.

Gabriel knew her, had spoken with her a bit in the past. She had been among the first of the angels created after the archangels, no longer a fledgling. He'd never seen her as extraordinary before – a quiet, nurturing, joyful type, who didn't seem to be intimidated by him as many of the lesser order of angels often were.

But what was the music?

"Uh… what is that?" he asked, peering around the little space of Heaven that Eleanor had carved out for herself. Her grace was shining so brightly that she was absolutely radiant with joy and elation, very nearly as bright as Lucifer himself. As soon as she heard his voice, Eleanor spun towards him. Her face lit up and she reached out and grabbed Gabriel's hand, pulling him in.

"Gabriel, I've figured it out!"

"You, uh… what? Where's that music coming from?" He saw no musical instruments whatsoever, just Eleanor and a funny looking picture on the ground. It wasn't a picture of anything, just a series of lines and swirls, but it seemed too deliberate to be idle doodling. "What's that?"

"Look! Come here, look!" The normally composed angel seemed almost beside herself with a giddiness that the stick-in-the-mud Raphael would have frowned upon. Gabriel, however, merely grinned at her exuberance and let her pull him over to the funny picture.

As he got closer, though, Gabriel blinked in surprise to discover that the music seemed to be emitting from the picture itself. What in Heaven _was_ this? He'd never seen or heard anything like it.

"Isn't it amazing? It's taken me ages to figure it out! Look… these marks here are an opening to pull in their particular energy. This series of curves and corners here, you see these? It's to slow the momentum of the energy down so it doesn't explode from the force of their power. And- and these here! These are the buffers, to stabilize the captured energy and muffle the cosmic amplitude! And then these marks, you see this? This was the hardest part, I had to find a way to de-tune and re-tune the energy into a wavelength that's compatible with our aural abilities. And then here, this other opening in the symbol, that's where the music emits out. Gabriel, I've _done_ it! I've finally done it, can you believe it?"

Gabriel blinked, trying to follow a word of what his sister had just said… but the only words that had stuck were "explode" and "music", the rest had all gone far over his head. She was just so excited, though, and he couldn't help but laugh slightly in surprise, then clear his throat.

"Okay, yeah, uh… you're gonna have to dumb that WAY down, sugar. You drew a picture that makes music?"

"No, no, Gabriel!" She didn't even seem to mind that he had no idea what she was talking about. Her enthusiasm and joy were over-powering, as she tugged on the archangel's hand, kneeling down over the symbol carved into the ground and urged, "Listen."

He listened. The music swelled, a pure, crystalline sound like nothing he had ever heard before. It was… perfect. There was something about that music, something so pure, so distant, so noble and perfect in a way that even the angels were not. It was ethereal, other-worldly, unreachable; the song had no words, only the melodies of something unimaginably cosmic, and the harmonies with intervals that couldn't possibly even exist.

It all fit together in magnificent, mind-blowing complexity that could have never been written down or replicated… a billion parts that should have never equaled one whole, and yet did.

The song was achingly, hauntingly perfect, and Gabriel felt a shock of awe race right through him, his entire being shaken to the core from the sheer beauty of what they were listening to.

"So… uh… you drew a picture that makes music?" he repeated with a smirk, to cover the overwhelming emotion that the song created in him. There was a faraway look in Eleanor's eyes, though, and she shook her head.

"Not a picture. A… a sigil. I think it's called a sigil. Gabriel… I've done it. The energy running through this sigil comes from the stars."

Whoa. Gabriel blinked, feeling dizzy and weak as he sat back on the ground and stared at Eleanor. He didn't understand. "The… stars?" But stars were just burning balls of gas, they made no sound and they certainly didn't make any music.

Eleanor turned to him, face so radiant, eyes so bright, such a pure and wholehearted joy evident in her bearing as she whispered, "Don't you understand? The stars are singing to Him. This sigil allows us to hear them. Gabriel, this music is their song, and we're _listening_ to them."

She exhaled softly in a quiet laugh, as dazed and awed as Gabriel himself. "Gabriel, we're listening to the stars!"

And that was the precise moment that Gabriel fell in love.


	2. In the Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone who's read my other fics Where They Don't Belong and The One You Feed, this is part of the same AU universe :) I wrote this one to stand alone but it's the same head canon as far as wings, sigils, etc. (I have a LOT of head canon, bahaha!) I also wrote this back in season 9-ish, before we really knew about the Mark of Cain, or had actual canon confirmation about Chuck and they were still sorta playing up the "is he or isn't he??" 
> 
> Anyway, there was SO MUCH we never got to see or hear about as far as angels go, so this is my attempt to fill in some blanks ^_^
> 
> Head's up, guys! The timeline bounces between ancient history and season 5 through most of this fic as Gabriel's side of the story is revealed. Chapter 1 takes us back to season 5... *dramatic music, curtain rises*

In the end, how fitting _was_ it that the one to screw it all up would be Castiel?

Gabriel glared at his captive bound to the chair, and he crossed his arms in displeasure. Castiel had always had a knack for meddling when he shouldn't, and asking far too many questions. He was always just a little too curious, a little too quick. Always. It had pissed off Michael and Raphael, and now it was pissing Gabriel off, too.

"Why couldn't you just stay out of it?" he demanded, though the silver duct tape across Castiel's mouth prevented him from replying in any way other than a glare. "Don't look at me like that. I'm gonna let Dean and Sammich outta TV world eventually. That _is_ why you're meddling, right? Gotta keep those precious humans under your wing?"

Castiel's glare deepened and Gabriel rolled his eyes.

Okay, so perhaps trapping the Winchesters in a world of bad TV shows wasn't a very nice thing to do, but Gabriel had stopped giving a damn a long, long time ago.

It was bad enough that Castiel had showed up at all and Gabriel had been forced to stick his brother in a WWE show with no angelic grace to help him fight off the enormous, muscled wrestlers. But then the little rat had wormed his way out of there and started putting pieces together, and Gabriel just couldn't have his brother spilling his secret identity that he'd spent thousands of years protecting.

"You know, Castiel, you've never learned how to just leave well enough alone. I'm sorry 'bout this, for what it's worth."

Castiel mumbled something behind the duct tape, squirming in the chair he was tied to in a futile bid for freedom. Gabriel's grace was far too strong, though, infused into the ropes that the angel was bound with – Castiel wasn't going anywhere. His hands were lashed to the chair's arms, feet tied securely to the legs, and Gabriel had taken the precaution of drawing an extra grace binding sigil around the entire thing.

He knew a thing or two about sigils.

In fact, he knew more than most angels about sigils.

Gabriel's glare deepened as thoughts and memories that he'd fought to keep buried threatened to surface. There wasn't much that could hurt an archangel, but letting those memories in? That would do the trick. Gabriel's hands tightened into fists as he stalked towards Castiel. The lesser angel flinched, turning his head slightly as though expecting Gabriel to strike him.

It was enough to keep Gabriel from doing just that. Castiel was an irritating, meddlesome little bugger, but he was still Gabriel's brother. The archangel actually wasn't trying to frighten or threaten him despite his irritation; there had even been a time when he'd defended the troublesome angel, and he enjoyed Castiel's spunk.

Right now, though, it was just inconvenient.

"So now we're in kind of a "sticky wicket", you get that, right, kiddo?" he asked instead, circling the bound Castiel with a mournful sigh. "I know you've figured it out, I can see it all over your face. So _now_ what am I supposed to do with you, huh? You shoulda stayed out of this, Castiel. It'd save me a lot of trouble to just kill you."

There was another muffled sound – it sounded like defiance, but the archangel felt a shimmer of fear in the air from his little brother. Again, Gabriel rolled his eyes, but didn't remove the tape. He didn't want to hear anything Castiel had to say. He didn't even want Castiel to _be_ there. In spite of his threat, Gabriel had absolutely no desire to kill his brother, despite how easily he could do it… a snap of his fingers, that was all it would take, and Castiel would no longer be a problem. Gabriel didn't want that, but he also didn't want his secret getting out.

"Don't give me that," he argued, as though he had even the slightest idea what Castiel might have been saying. "You brought this on yourself, sticking your nose in where it didn't belong."

"Mm mmmm mmm mm MMMM!"

"What's that? Oh, I've been great, really great, thanks for asking. Learned how to mambo, tasted the world's spiciest salsa. Finally got to visit Aruba, and let me tell you… the girls there?" Gabriel whistled, shaking his head with a smirk. "They're just all kinds of kinky! It's been _great_ down here!"

It was hell down here.

But then again, it was hell in Heaven. Everywhere was hell, because the real hell was inside of him, in his mind and heart and soul, and it was everywhere he was. But Gabriel just smiled wider, giving his younger brother a broad, roguish wink.

Castiel's responding piercing glare spoke his disdain and betrayal clearer than his words ever could, and Gabriel could feel the accusation. It burned his heart like holy fire, and he flipped from cocky Trickster to wrathful archangel in the time it took to fly in front of his imprisoned brother and grab him by the lapels of that trench coat.

"Don't you look at me like that," he seethed through clenched teeth, giving the angel a harsh shake. "Not you, Castiel. You wouldn't understand."

"Mm MMM mm!"

"Sorry, didn't catch that, kiddo."

"MmMMMMMMmm!"

"See, here's the thing, bro. You don't even know what it was like. You were just a fledgling when it all began, you don't even _remember_ a time before Michael and Lucifer had to screw it all up." Gabriel's golden eyes flickered and darkened with terrifying ire, as did the otherwise empty room that they were in, echoing his mood. Then, just as quickly, it faded to a dull, somber gloom of bitterness and pain. "You don't remember what it was like before, when everything was _good..._ but I do."

* * *

_Long ago_

"Gabriel, if I didn't know any better, I would say you were making up reasons to come see me."

Eleanor smiled as the archangel shrugged casually and gave her a wink.

"No idea what you're talking about, sugar. I just wanted to know if you could make a sigil that would hide me from Raphael. Or turn him pink. Pink and sparkly. I mean, you ARE the sigil genius, right?"

She shook her head affectionately, still smiling, as she murmured, "On the other hand, I suppose I could see you truly wanting to do such a thing. What have you been up to now?"

"Who, _me_?"

Eleanor wasn't remotely fooled by his innocent grin, judging from the skeptical smirk she offered in reply. Gabriel shrugged, opting for a casual stance, as he admitted, "Ok, ya caught me. I just wanted to drop in and see what you were working on."

Ever since she had successfully created a sigil, Eleanor had dove into the study of how energy could be harnessed through the icons. All of the angels agreed that the ability to listen to the song of the cosmos was incredible beyond all understanding, but few could truly follow her complex (and rather giddy) explanations of how she had made it work.

Gabriel loved the enthusiasm with which she told him of the different energies given off by every created creature or thing, though he had no idea what she was talking about. Eleanor was an excellent teacher, and perhaps he _could_ have figured it out… but he was more interested in watching the joyful light in her eyes, the way she gestured with her entire body to demonstrate her points, the excited laughter that she couldn't contain when discussing her passion for these sigils.

No, she was far too distracting for him to understand what she was saying.

"Come in and see," Eleanor invited him now, stepping back from the doorway of her little work space. It was wallpapered from arched ceiling to marble floor with papers, diagrams, notes, scribbles, all utterly undecipherable. To any other eyes, there was no sense of order or organization to any of it, a hullabaloo of parchment and ink. Eleanor was at home there, though. She led the way over to a sturdy desk, on which was a leather bound book.

It was hard to believe that the same angel owned both the seemingly scatter-brained office as well as the tidy, meticulous book. Every sigil that Eleanor had heretofore created was diagrammed in excruciating detail, complete with neat and orderly explanations for every single line and swirl within the construct. At the end of each entry was a "Bottom Line", an addition suggested by Gabriel himself to spell out in black and white exactly what the sigil was meant to do.

Eleanor pushed the book aside, revealing pages of notes and drafts of sigils that hadn't worked yet. Gabriel cocked his head and examined the notes, nodding wisely.

"Ah, yes," he ventured, gesturing to the sheaf that he couldn't begin to read. "That's very… ah… _compelling_."

"…Compelling?" Eleanor asked him wryly, gathering the papers up in a neat stack with a rustle of dry parchment. "You have no idea what it says, do you."

"Sure! It… uh… it- well, I mean, obviously it's to… to…..." Yeah, who was he kidding? "No, I have no idea what it says."

Eleanor laughed, the spark in her eyes already starting to rise to the surface as she eagerly started to point out the various parts of the sigil. "Look, see these curving lines here? The motion of a gradual curve is soothing, so I'm trying to work out something to ease a frightened mind. Little Balthazar got himself hurt, tussling with Castiel," she went on to explain, shaking her head in a matronly, disapproving way. "He would barely stop crying long enough for me to heal him. I thought this might help calm down injured fledglings who can't heal themselves yet. Once I get it to work, of course."

Gabriel grinned at the mention of the two fledglings, both of whom were entirely too easy to coerce into mischief, much to his delight. "Hey, every fledgling's gotta learn how to tussle and get themselves hurt," he pointed out. "Helps 'em be a better fighter once they're warriors!"

Clearly, Eleanor did _not_ share this sentiment, as she rolled her eyes and tsk-ed. "Warriors, to hear you speak, Gabriel! Warriors to fight whom, might I ask? Father already cast the Leviathons into Purgatory."

"Yeah, but you never know. Besides," he added with a mischievous grin, "it's just fun to have a good scuffle now and then."

Eleanor tsk-ed again, but there was still a softness in her aura, a warm and inviting glow that Gabriel had come to find irresistible. Leaning in closer just to feel the crackling of her effervescent grace, Gabriel asked her smoothly,

"Soooo… Did you know there's a full lunar eclipse in the Earth plane coming up?"

"Ahh, Earth," Eleanor repeated with a little smile. "No, I had not heard. Tell me, have you been to visit Father's newest creation?" Her eyes lit up again, filling Gabriel with delight. "Is it as beautiful as they say?"

"Not nearly as beautiful as the view from here."

The words, huskily murmured and fervently meant, were out of his mouth before he could stop them. Gabriel didn't react to his own unexpected daring, keeping his cool as he gazed intently down at the other angel, the most beautiful of all imaginable views. Her lips parted in surprise; where so many other angels would have been too obtuse to recognize the thinly veiled advance, Eleanor was a quick study.

"I…" she stammered, far too taken aback to know what to say. "That is…" The aura of grace that surrounded her pulsated and flickered, a shimmering dance that revealed her delight in his words.

Pressing his advantage, Gabriel leaned closer in, reaching out to catch her hand and bring it up to his lips. "But yes," he murmured, golden eyes boring into Eleanor, hardly believing that he was even doing this. "It _is_ beautiful. You should come see the eclipse… you'd love it. Come with me."

His voice was practically a command, and yet underneath the carefully layered confidence and charm, Gabriel could feel his own grace sizzling and spurting with nerves. For crying out loud, he was an _archangel_ , how could he feel this much anxiety over talking to her? Even if she _was_ the most alluring, exquisitely beautiful angel in creation, as far as he was concerned.

Maybe it was because it hadn't occurred to him until right then that she – and she alone of all the angels – might actually decline. Other angels looked at him in awe and reverence (as well they should, obviously), and would have leaped at this invitation without a second thought – Eleanor was neither intimidated by him, nor did she have a reason to be.

Even though he had come here with the sole intention of mentioning the upcoming eclipse, Gabriel hadn't planned on being quite so bold about it. It _seemed_ like something she would enjoy, though, to stand on the empty beaches of the Earth, still devoid of any real life, and watch the heavens in their glory.

Gabriel stood there, hoping that his smile covered all traces of his quaking suspense, and waited.

Eleanor bit her lower lip slightly, an unusually shy gesture for her. Her eyes raised up to his slowly, and Gabriel was relieved to see a sweet, innocent happiness there, right before she nodded. "Alright," she agreed, almost breathlessly. "That… that sounds nice."

Gabriel's smile split open into a wide, cocky grin. "Come on, then, sugar." He winked again, and wrapped an arm around her waist in preparation to fly. "The world awaits."


	3. Clash of the Titans

_Present day_

"So, we still gotta figure out what we're gonna do about this little problem of ours, bro." Gabriel snapped his fingers, instantaneously creating another chair out of absolutely nothing. He plunked it down in front of the bound Castiel, then snapped his fingers again for a little table so that he could prop his feet up and lean back.

Arms crossed, eyebrow raised, Gabriel rocked slightly on the back two legs of the chair and squinted at his brother.

Castiel glared back at him, as stoic as he'd been trained to be. Raphael would be proud. Well, no, Gabriel mentally amended, he wouldn't be, because Raphael was never proud of anyone, only critical and unforgiving. Castiel was silent now, no longer trying to make himself heard through the duct tape, which was just as well.

"Seeing as my specialty is poetic justice," Gabriel drawled, snapping a lollipop into existence and popping it into his mouth, "what could we do for _you_?" He savored the sweet taste of the sugar, drawing out the suspense, just eyeing Castiel. Waiting.

No reaction.

"Well, we'll think on it, huh?"

Still no reply.

Gabriel grinned, surprisingly enjoying the interaction – such as it was. How long had it actually been since he'd spoken to another angel? He'd met so many beings since then… but was still so incredibly lonely. "Maybe you should just stay here," he offered, only half in jest. "You wanna stay with me?"

Castiel's glare deepened, which was answer enough. Gabriel rolled his eyes and tipped his head back to stare at the ceiling. He exhaled loudly in exasperation, before letting the chair fall back to the floor on all fours with a thud. Jumping to his feet, he took a chomp out of the lollipop and used the stick to gesture with.

"Okay, well that doesn't leave you with a whole lotta options, buddy boy. Just ask yourself _why_ you're zipping around with these two yahoos. I mean, really, why are you fighting this, bro? The Apocalypse is gonna happen whether you like it or not… so let it happen. Trust me, there's actually worse options."

"Mm mMMmm mmmmm!"

"Hey! Words hurt! I take offense to that."

This time, Castiel rolled his eyes and looked away, slumping back in the chair in clear resignation to his situation. Now if only Gabriel could get him to resign to the BIG situation as easily.

"Look. Tweedledee and Tweedledum already let Lucifer outta his cage, so… it's happening. There's no going back, Castiel." Gabriel's expression shifted back into another shadowed frown, his carefree persona dropping away as he stated this one simple truth. It was too late, and there was no going back to the way things were. There was no magical re-set button. Not even for an archangel.

Castiel's eyes slid back over to him; his answer was one short shake of his head.

Still holding out. Gabriel scoffed, turning away from his brother for a second before suddenly whipping back around. "You remember those good ol' days I mentioned?" he asked, voice slightly tremulous with emotion normally buried. His lollipop vanished. "Let me tell you what happened next."

Gabriel stalked forward. As he passed Castiel, he reached out and snagged the back of the chair with one hand and jerked. There was a muffled yelp from the captive angel as the chair tilted backwards onto two legs, dragged along by Gabriel.

"Humans," the archangel snapped, still dragging Castiel in the chair behind him until he reached the back wall of the room he had created. "Humans happened next. It was all downhill after that." Harshly, he spun the chair to face the wall and smashed it back down on all four legs, the sigil instantly reappearing beneath it as he did. Castiel grunted into the gag in protest of the rough treatment, but Gabriel ignored him.

With a snap of his fingers, Gabriel turned the wall they were facing into foggy mirror. For a moment, there was nothing visible besides his own frowning face and Castiel's wide-eyed, wary one. Then, everything shimmered, forming a different image… an image of a different time, a different place.

Heaven.

"Humans happened, and Lucifer didn't like it. Okay, so he _kinda_ took it to extremes," Gabriel added, shrugging and tilting his head, "and yeah, he cared more about his own pride than his family. And Michael cared more about being praised as the perfect son than being a good brother, so what's that say about _his_ pride?"

On the smoky screen, they could now see what looked like a vast, open chamber, made of marble and diamond. Wide columns rose in tall pillars, inlaid with gold filigree swirls. It should have been a majestically picturesque scene, but the beauty was marred by the sound of thunder and cries.

Gabriel watched Castiel shrewdly, noting how the lesser angel flinched and shrank back from the booming crack of thunder. Castiel's throat bobbed slightly, swallowing hard as he subtly began to strain at the ropes again in clear desire to run.

So, he _did_ remember this part.

The archangel watched him for another moment, eyes narrowed. Then, suddenly, his entire demeanor changed as he pasted his grin back on. "Okay, well, I gotta go pop in on the Hardy Boys for a moment," he announced. "I think I might even let them "kill" me, just to _really_ mess with them. Meanwhile, enjoy the view." He gestured to the wall, which was now showing lesser angels hiding behind columns with expressions of fear, trying to hide from Michael and Lucifer's wrath. "Take a minute to remember why it'd be better to just end this than to let them keep fighting. Remember what it was like when their fight just kept dragging on."

"MM-mmm-mm!"

"Ah, sorry, kiddo… you're right, I know I shoulda brought the popcorn, but ya know..." He clicked his tongue and shook his head. "…I wasn't planning on you showing up. Back in a jiffy. You just sit tight."

With that, he was gone, leaving Castiel surrounded with the memories of Heaven, back when the fights were in full swing.

* * *

Gabriel could tell from the moment he flew back to Heaven that they were at it again.

How long could this possibly go on? Michael and Lucifer fought nearly constantly these days, often with Raphael jumping in to try and get his own voice heard. Ever since Dad had revealed His plan to elevate these humans – still in a rudimentary stage, for the moment, with the entire Earth as their Garden – Lucifer had just flipped his shit. He'd made it _very_ clear that he would never consider these crawling, squirming creatures as "above" him, and he was being perfectly ghastly about it all.

Worse, Michael just kept feeding it, reminding Lucifer constantly that their _duty_ was to obey their Father and that he didn't want to have to _punish_ Lucifer, and if Lucifer was _half_ the son that Michael was, he'd quit his whining. It was just the sort of too-big-for-his-britches nasty thing to say which was guaranteed to set Lucifer off again.

Gabriel didn't know how much more of this he could take, but that was nothing compared to what the lesser angels were going through because of this.

No sooner had he returned to Heaven, he was very nearly struck by a stray explosion of grace. It rocked the heavens so hard that Gabriel stumbled back a step, hands flying up to protect himself from chunks of wall and pillars that crumbled and fell.

"Damn it, not again!" the archangel hissed, hearing the thunderous booms of his two elder brothers in the midst of their fight. No more squabbling or arguing; they'd progressed to very physical fights, no holds barred, using their full grace against each other.

Why wasn't Dad stopping this?! It was tearing Heaven part, quite literally, and Gabriel anxiously took wing.

"Eleanor?" he shouted, coughing and choking slightly on the thick dust raised by the crumbling rocks. "Eleanor!" Gabriel flew straight for her little office, trying to open the door. It was reluctant to budge, but Gabriel put his full force into shoving the door open, and it slammed back on its hinges through the fallen debris that had been blocking it. "Ellie?"

"Gabriel?"

Her voice was little more than a sob. Gabriel spotted her instantly, huddled in one corner of the office with her arms wrapped tightly around herself. There were tears on her face, and he crossed the room in one powerful flap of his hidden wings.

"Eleanor! Are you hurt? Hey, you okay, sugar?"

"They won't stop," Eleanor whispered to him, terrified eyes meeting his as he took her hands firmly. "They won't _stop_."

"Hey… hey, it's okay. Shhh, it's okay, they'll stop soon."

"I'm not going out there until they do."

He could tell from her rigid posture, the rapid, frightened flickering of her aura, just how afraid she truly was… and for good reason. There was another deafening crack of thunder, scorching the very air around them with the power of furious archangels. Eleanor shrieked, instinctively ducking her head as grace catapulted through the open door like bullets ripping through the air.

"Damn it!" Gabriel growled again, grabbing Eleanor reflexively and wrapping his arms around her as a shield. The smell of charred marble assaulted his senses, and Gabriel shook his head. He was going to have some serious words with his brothers, he decided, feeling Eleanor trembling with agitation and distress. The collision of the archangels' combined graces were wreaking havoc throughout Heaven, and someone was going to get hurt.

 _Really_ hurt.

As in, _he_ might just be minorly injured from their ricocheting grace, but a lesser angel could conceivably be killed… all because the assholes weren't even paying attention to what their fight was doing to the rest of their brethren!

"Gabriel, they're so powerful," Eleanor moaned, shrinking deeper into the corner for what protection it would offer. "They're going to tear Heaven apart. Why won't they just stop?"

"Shh… hey, I gotcha, Ellie. I won't let you get hurt. Okay?"

Eleanor nodded, wiping her eyes hurriedly. She sniffed, trying to compose herself, as she murmured, "But what about the other angels? Anyone out there is in danger-" Abruptly, she cut off with a sharp gasp, sitting bolt upright. Gabriel jumped, taken off guard, and he let go of her long enough to whip around in full expectation of imminent danger.

Nothing there.

"What?! What is it?" he demanded as he turned back towards her. He watched in alarm as all the color drained from Eleanor's face, leaving a ghostly, sickened look of horror.

"The fledglings…"

She didn't even wait for her whispered words to register with Gabriel. He was still blinking as she leaped to her feet, tearing from the relative safety of her office as fast as she could fly without a second's hesitation. Gabriel reacted instantly, racing behind her and shouting.

"Eleanor, _WAIT!_ "

"Terriel!? Daniel! Rebecca, where are you?! Hannah! Sweeties, where are you?!"

Gabriel dashed after Eleanor, cursing her nurturing, protective instinct even though it was a part of what made her so enchantingly remarkable. Fear for herself could not allow her to leave the safety of the office; fear for the fledglings could not allow her to stay there.

"Eleanor!" Gabriel shouted as thunder boomed and grace crackled all around him. The farther he raced through the halls of Heaven, the more angels he saw, pinned down by fear, huddling together in corners and behind pillars wherever they could find shelter. They were terrified. As Gabriel chased Eleanor, he cursed his brothers for their blind idiocy and the collateral damage they were wantonly causing.

"Gabriel, what's happening?" a worried voice called as he ran past. Gabriel paused and turned to see Anna, a young soldier. She was clearly afraid, but also clearly trying to stay under control. She was crouching over a frightened Castiel and Balthazar – no longer fledglings but not yet full-grown – shielding them from the falling debris and explosive fragments of grace.

"Stay down," he snapped back at her in reply, a shield of his own power flying from his fingertips to encapsulate the three. That should protect them from the worst of it, but where had Eleanor gotten to? Where _were_ the fledglings? Surely someone had thought to gather them up when the fighting started.

But no. Gabriel was furious as he caught the sound of their tiny cries between cracks of thunder. Why had any of the fledglings gotten left behind in this?! He rounded the corner of the enormous, open Hall, and that was where he found his brothers.

"I will NOT bow to the HUMANS!" Lucifer bellowed, charging full-tilt at Michael, whose responding blow created a small explosion that rocked the entire hall. Debris flew everywhere, sparks of grace shooting off in all directions from the collision, heedless of who might be in the way.

"You will DO as you are ORDERED!" Michael's voice was filled with Command, but he had no true authority over the other archangels, created as equals. The brothers collided again, and another stentorian boom of thunder echoed jarringly throughout all of Heaven. The Hall had been built as a place of beauty and peace; it had never been designed to contain the fury of archangels.

Gabriel stumbled back a pace from the tremor, turning to his left to find Eleanor. She was in the closest corner, kneeling in front of two young fledglings with her arms held out wide. It was Hannah and Terriel. Both had tears pouring down their faces as they huddled back and wailed in fear at the anger and volume of the brawl between the brothers.

"Shh… shh… come here, my darlings," she cooed urgently. "Hurry, sweeties, we have to go."

Eleanor gathered them up in her arms, protecting the little ones, but they were far too close to the fight. Gabriel saw the arching flash of grace like lightning, a wayward attack from Michael that Lucifer had dodged… which placed Eleanor directly in its path.

"No!" Gabriel cried out, his hands flying up faster than thought. A huge barrier was thrown up between the fighters and the innocent collateral angels, a massive wall to shield Eleanor and the fledglings she carried in her arms. It shook and tried to crumble, but the archangel desperately continued pouring his grace into the structure, letting his own strength fortify the wall until Michael's attack had dissipated.

But had he been in time?!

"Gabriel?"

Her voice had never sounded sweeter, and Gabriel slumped in weak relief. She was alive… and now he could hear Terriel and Hannah crying as well, both safe and sound.

"Stay there!" he shouted back to her, knowing it was as protected a place as anywhere else in Heaven at the moment.

But now, Gabriel was _pissed._ What were his brothers thinking?! Ignoring all rules of logic and common sense that dictated he should stay as far away from the brawling angels as possible, Gabriel instead leaped brashly forward, straight at the pair.

"Both of you, _STOP_!"

An archangel in full voice was a power not to be trifled with. Gabriel could no more command them than Michael could, but his voice reverberated throughout the entire Hall as forcefully as their own heated argument, echoing on stone and marble so that lesser angels had to cover their ears.

It was enough to do what nothing else so far had: get through the sounds of the fighting to the angels responsible for all of this. They had clearly heard him, and they were clearly not interested in listening to what he had to say. With a furious glare, Lucifer snarled,

"Not NOW, Gabriel!"

Whipping around, the dazzling archangel slashed his hand towards Gabriel, a motion like he was pushing his brother away. Still in battle mode, though, Lucifer's grace streamed from his hand and caught Gabriel full in the face.

There was silence in Heaven as Gabriel was thrown back into the marble wall with an audible crack, sank to the floor, and did not move.


	4. Promise

Ow. _OW_. For the love of Dad, he hurt all over.

Damn it, it felt like a small atomic bo _mb_ had just gone off in his face... which was not an entirely inaccurate description.

Everything was swimming, as Gabriel's eyes fluttered open. There was a deafening whoosh in his ears, a distant echo of someone snapping his name in what sounded like irritation. Gabriel didn't know what _they_ were so irritated about, when _he_ was the one who'd just gotten sucker-punched by archangel grace.

Oh damn, that _really_ hurt. If he hadn't been an archangel, or if Lucifer had put just a little more juice into his attack, Gabriel would have just been smote to pieces. He _felt_ like he'd been smote to pieces, but Gabriel was fairly sure he was still too conscious to be dead. Though of course, he _could_ be wrong. What actually did happen to angels when they died? No one actually knew, and Dad had never said. Well, Dad didn't say much, though. Wow, Gabriel was feeling loopy, his thoughts scattered and vague.

"Gabriel, _get up_."

The voice was more in focus now, and sounded supremely annoyed, with just a flavor of anxiety. Nice to know Lucifer was at least concerned over the fact that he'd nearly killed his little brother.

With a groan, Gabriel closed his eyes, taking a breath to steel himself and hopefully make the world stop spinning. When he opened his eyes again, at least the Hall seemed to be staying in one place, more or less. Lucifer was crouched over him, two fingers on Gabriel's forehead in healing. The older archangel looked pissed, and the glowering Michael in the background appeared no less delighted with the situation.

"You idiot," Lucifer snarled as Gabriel struggled to sit upright. "What were you thinking?!"

So much for concern and anxiety. Then again, that was just how Lucifer showed love: gruff. Still, Gabriel gaped and choked out, "What was _I_ thinking? Look around you!"

None of the lesser angels had moved, though Eleanor was peeking around the wall Gabriel had created with huge eyes, looking desperate to run to him. The fledglings she had rescued were clinging to her, faces buried in her shoulders and whimpering. The two archangels took a swift glance around now, though, registering the devastation around them.

"Great. That's just _great_ , Michael!" Lucifer spat out as he stood, stepping away from Gabriel. "I hope you've sufficiently punished everyone for not being as _perfect_ as you!"

"Me? Who just attacked Gabriel, _Lucifer_?! You care for nothing but yourself!"

Except, from where Gabriel sat, that went for both of them. "Uh, guys? If I may just say-" he started to pipe up, but both his brothers spun on him with an irate,

"No!"

Well, then. Gabriel's eyes narrowed, but he didn't bother going on. They were both determined to be dicks, apparently. Meanwhile, though, he was still pissed off. Someone could have gotten hurt. _Ellie_ could have gotten hurt! And over what? Humans? This fight was stupid and needless! The two ought to be ashamed of themselves, not still trying to play who was most at fault!

Michael at least had the decency to look guilty as he surveyed the damage again. It took nothing more than a wave of his hand to make the walls and pillars whole, erasing the debris as though the fight had never taken place. Lucifer never said a word, nor moved to help put things back together, but he did extend a hand down towards Gabriel.

For a moment, Gabriel was strongly tempted to ignore the hand. He glared up at his older brother, but now there was a look of contrition in Lucifer's gaze that was rarely, if ever, seen in the proud archangel. Though Lucifer would never offer an apology, he was truly sorry for having hurt his brother; Gabriel could see that much.

Gabriel relented. They had stopped fighting now, that was the important thing. Wary of disturbing the tenuous quiet that had settled, he chose to bite his tongue - again - and allow Lucifer to pull him to his feet. Still none of the lesser angels moved.

"I'm going to go talk to Father," Michael announced pompously, a completely unnecessary statement that only served to make Lucifer snort in derision and disappear in the opposite direction with a flap of massive, unseen wings. Gabriel couldn't understand why Michael looked surprised by this. Had he actually thought the remark was going to win Lucifer over with all the warmth and fuzziness? Damn, his brothers were idiots.

Only once Michael had flounced off like a childish prick, and the Host had determined that the fighting was truly over for the moment, did they begin to emerge from the woodwork. Pale, distressed faces gazed out into the Hall, while angels climbed shakily to their feet. Gabriel heard Zachariah telling Naomi that he personally felt Michael should be doing more to control the situation. At the same time, he heard another angel mutter darkly in hushed tones that none of this would be happening were it not for the humans, that Lucifer was right for his objections.

Their opinions meant absolutely nothing to Gabriel, whose eyes sought only one angel: Eleanor.

"Gabriel," she gasped, hurrying towards him now with the fledglings still clinging to her. "Gabriel! Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"Am I alright?" Something inside Gabriel snapped, his emotions getting the best of him. His voice was harsh and furious as he grabbed her shoulders and shouted, "Forget about me, what were you doing?! I would have gotten the fledglings, Eleanor! You put yourself right in the middle of danger! Don't you realize you could have died?!" He uttered a tense curse, the thought of Eleanor dying leaving him stricken and breathless. They had gotten so close over the years, he just... he couldn't even think about something happening to her!

Eleanor just stared at him, stung, and Gabriel cursed himself again for yelling at her. Now she was going to be mad at him, too, and he couldn't take all of this! The constant fighting, the stench of fear that contaminated his home, his own inability to stop it... the cries of his younger siblings, the terrorized eyes of tiny fledglings caught in the middle... he was so damn tired of this! But it wasn't Eleanor's fault, and he shouldn't have yelled at her.

But Eleanor didn't raise her voice to Gabriel. Instead, she regarded him for another second, then leaned down to start chalking in a design on the floor of the Hall. It was her sigil for soothing the mind, and she set the fledglings gently down inside of it.

"Stay here for a while, alright, sweeties? You'll feel better," she crooned, smoothing Hannah's hair back and cupping Terriel's cheek. They nodded, as Eleanor gestured another angel named Ezekiel over. "Will you watch them, please? I need a word with Gabriel."

"Of course." Ezekiel nodded, shooting Gabriel a sympathetic look that the archangel didn't feel he deserved. There was no time for an exchange of words, as she was already grabbing Gabriel's hand and tugging him along.

It was almost eerie how pristine the Hall was, as they quickly wound their way through the emerging angels. Only moments before, it had looked like a minefield, a war zone; now, it was spotless, undisturbed, as though the fight had never happened at all… like with a wave of his hand, Michael or Lucifer could just cover up the entire situation. Gabriel wasn't sure why that bothered him so much.

"Eleanor, look, I'm-"

"Just come on."

She didn't say another word, and he didn't protest as she led him back to her little office. Inside, she closed the door and released his hand, immediately starting to scrawl some more sigils around the white stone walls. Gabriel didn't try to ask what they were for. He was still trying to think of a smooth way of apologizing, of explaining that he just cared for her too much to watch her needlessly put herself in harm's way. No words were coming to mind, though, and soon she had turned back to him.

"Sound proofing," she explained simply, nodding to the symbols she'd put up. Gabriel was surprised how gentle her voice sounded, given that she ought to be hurt and angry with him. "Is there something you'd like to say to your brothers?"

Gabriel blinked. "Ooookay... not what I was expecting..."

"Gabriel, I've seen how upset their fighting makes you. It upsets _all_ of us, but… you're so much closer to them. But you haven't said anything, and I think you should. Just say what you want to tell them. They'll never know, and I'll never tell."

As an archangel, perhaps it was only natural that Gabriel had quite the ego, and he had never, even once, felt so… so inadequate, compared to another angel. He stared at Eleanor: a simple, quiet soul with very little power but for the power she created for herself with the sigils… but there were none others like her.

"I…" he began, shocked when his voice cracked. Gabriel suddenly felt vulnerable, extraordinarily small; he wasn't used to that. Didn't much care for the feeling, either, and if this had been anyone other than Eleanor, he would have cracked a joke and smiled it all away.

With her, though, there was a feeling of safety and acceptance, like there was no danger in actually feeling what he felt. Every raw emotion, no matter how bad, was respected.

"I just…" With a deep, shuddering breath, he whispered suddenly, "They're my _brothers_. I love them."

She nodded, eyes sad. "I know you do."

"I can't stand to see them fight this way. They're my family! We're supposed to be a _FAMILY_! I can't _take_ this!" His voice was rising now, as he spun away from Eleanor and stood rigid, his fists clenched by his sides. "We're supposed to PROTECT Heaven, not tear it apart! Why are they _doing_ this?! How can they just throw our family aside like it means _nothing_!?"

Gabriel was shocked to find tears on his cheeks, the rant drawing out emotions that he had buried deep in a desperate attempt to keep some of the peace. But they couldn't hear him here, and he could say whatever the hell he wanted to about them. Gabriel kept shouting, as though he actually _was_ speaking to them, words he couldn't say to their faces without making everything worse.

"You didn't even stop to _think,_ you two jackasses! You didn't CARE who was in the way, you didn't care who got hurt! All you cared about was your stupid argument over the stupid humans! You're destroying Heaven, but all you care about is who's right! You idiotic, arrogant, self-righteous bastards! You could have _killed_ her, you dicks!"

He whipped back around towards Eleanor, eyes filled with an unquenchable, sickening horror. "What if they'd killed you?! You can't just go jumping in their path, Ellie! You _can't_! You have to stay out of it, _promise_ me you'll stay out of their way!"

"Hey, hey... shhh…"

He might as well have been a fledgling himself. Eleanor was in front of him in seconds, expression gentle rather than angry. The stark comparison between her response to confrontation and Michael or Lucifer's nearly knocked Gabriel back a step, and he knew in that instant that archangels or no, she was a far superior angel.

"Gabriel, I wasn't hurt," she reminded him, the same soothing voice that had calmed the little ones. Her hand took his, lifting it up to settle on her cheek, as though in proof that she was there. "I'm alright. See?"

"But… what if…"

"Shhh…"

"You just _had_ to be all brave and… and beautiful…" Gabriel leaned his head forward until their foreheads were resting against each other. He closed his eyes, soaking in the warmth of her aura, the comfort of her mere presence. That was just who she was: comforting, brave, warm. "You don't understand, Ellie… I can't lose you. Can't live without you."

There was no reply, but he could feel her aura pulse in response to his words, the warmth intensifying. She sighed slightly, as though taking comfort from him instead of the other way around. Her hand on his tightened slightly, and then Eleanor pulled herself in closer, folding into Gabriel's chest. His arms wrapped around her frame as though they had been created for just that purpose. For a moment, neither spoke.

Then, Eleanor's quiet whisper: "For a moment, I was afraid I'd lost you, too." Her body pressed in closer to his, and then, "I… I don't think I could bear that."

But that would mean she felt the same for him as he felt for her, and that was something Gabriel simply could not believe. He pulled back slightly, looking into her eyes, questioning. Eleanor smiled at him, such a sweet, lovely smile. Her hands slid to his shoulders, tracing the powerful muscles as lightly as the feathers of her hidden wings.

"So… you should probably not die," she suggested suddenly, surprising a laugh from Gabriel.

"Hmm, tell ya what, sugar," he replied, feeling much more like himself now. "I'll make you a deal. I won't die if _you_ don't. Fair enough?"

Her smile widened and Gabriel's soul fluttered like his Father's newly created butterflies. "Yes, it's a deal," she agreed. "We shall both go right on living."

"You promise?"

She smiled again, nodding. "I promise."

He was starting to feel a little bit better – and that was when guilt hit him full force, and Gabriel closed his eyes again. Shit. What was wrong with him? Why was _she_ the one comforting _him_? Eleanor could be too damn selfless, always putting others before herself. She'd ignored her own peril in exchange for protecting the fledglings, and she'd ignored her own fear and pain in order to first take care of him.

Well, Gabriel wasn't having any of that.

"Now, for the _really_ important question," Gabriel began, stepping back and sliding his hands up so that he was cupping her cheeks at arms' length, squinting slightly in examination, "What about _you_ , sugar?"

Eleanor blinked. "What about me?" But even as she asked, her aura seemed to flicker, dimming slightly in obvious sadness. Gabriel snorted.

"Come here." He scooped her up off her feet, surprising her so that she gasped and quickly wrapped her arms around him. Gabriel grinned, then settled himself down on the marble floor, leaning back against the wall so that he was cradling Eleanor. "Now that I've swept you off your feet," he joked, holding her close, "let's just sit a while. I gotcha."

Eleanor laughed softly, but instantly leaned into him, soaking in his strength. She really _had_ been shaken, he could still feel it in her thrumming grace… but Gabriel was going to protect her and watch out for her. And so help him, if his brothers ever got going like that again, he'd go straight to Dad and demand that He do something about it.

* * *

They did get going like that again. The next time, the archangels' fight escalated even more, and by the end of the fight, every angel in Heaven knew that nothing would ever be the same.


	5. The Eagle and the Swan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is gonna have some of my head-canon regarding angel wings. My previous stories showed how corrupt, evil angels like Zachariah could torture and violate another angel through their wings (sorry for the whump, Cas!). There's another side to that canon, though :)

_Present day_

Gabriel was still chuckling when he appeared back in the mostly empty room that he'd stashed Castiel away in. The Winchester brothers were convinced that they'd finally managed to kill the "Trickster"… they had no idea what he'd planned for them _next_ , though Sam in particular would probably find some extra drive to cooperate.

Gabriel's grin spread from ear to ear as he cheerfully noted that Castiel was still there (not that he had much choice in the matter). That grin faded, though, as he saw his brother's face.

The archangel's "movie" was still playing, as it had been the entire time he'd been gone. Castiel was stuck there in surround sound, forced to watch and listen as his eldest brothers tore Heaven apart around him. The angel's eyes were closed in an attempt to shut out the terrible sounds of the archangels' fight, his expression contorted into one of obvious distress, and he was breathing hard. Already, Gabriel could see that his wrists were starting to get raw from struggling against the ropes.

Well, damn. Now Gabriel felt kinda guilty. Clearly this had affected Castiel more than even he had been expecting. Maybe leaving him stuck in the instant replay had been a _little_ overkill, given how genuinely traumatizing it had been for all the angels.

With a quick snap of his fingers, the booming thunder disappeared instantly like he'd hit a mute button, and the wall turned back into just a normal wall. Castiel's shoulders shook slightly, as his agonized eyes slowly opened and caught Gabriel's gaze with a look of accusation and misery.

"Ah… sorry, bro." Gabriel walked forward, laying his hands on either of Castiel's wrists; both healed instantly. As an afterthought, the archangel changed the rope to soft strips of linen with a snap of his fingers. It would still keep Castiel helplessly bound, but would hopefully be less harsh on the angel's skin. "I must be going soft," he muttered to himself, though it caused him an extra stab of guilt when Castiel also looked genuinely surprised by the small mercy that Gabriel wasn't exactly known for.

What? He didn't _want_ to hurt his brother, he'd never _wanted_ for _any_ of the angels to get hurt. But like the wise man said, you can't always get what you want.

"Anyway, guess you remember that, huh?" he asked. "The next time they fought, Michael gave Lucifer a one way ticket to Hell-ville, minus the shiny cage at the time, of course. You remember _that_ fight, dontcha? And then Dad took the microphone. Remember that?"

Gabriel certainly did. When God spoke, it was unforgettable; the power of that Voice, echoing through Heaven and in the very minds of every single angel simultaneously, was a _very_ rare occurrence. Dad _rarely_ spoke to them, even in those days, not that it had been face to face.

Just a Voice, far removed.

"Ah yeah, told us all about Lucifer's expulsion, about your little boy-toys, Sam and Dean. Heck, that was the first time any of us had even heard the word 'vessel'." Gabriel's eyes narrowed. "You _heard_ the whole prophecy spiel, Castiel. You know it's gonna happen."

Puffing himself up, Gabriel raised his voice to an echoing boom, risking blasphemy by mimicking his Father. " _AND IN THE FINAL DAYS… IT WILL END WITH TWO MEN. SAM WINCHESTER. DEAN WINCHESTER. THE VESSELS FOR MICHAEL AND LUCIFER, AND THUS SHALL IT BE ENDED._ "

The lesser angel flinched slightly at the memory of the words, but he was glaring openly with rebellion. So much like Lucifer, but so different. Gabriel thought Castiel was being perfectly selfish in letting this war continue, and yet his little brother's heart seemed genuinely in the right place – a feeling Gabriel had never gotten from Luci.

"I don't know what the hell I'm gonna do with you, kiddo… I really don't." he admitted suddenly, spinning Castiel's chair back around to face the room and dragging his own over to sit in. Castiel's eyes widened and he mumbled,

"Mm mmMM, Mm-m-mm."

"But see, I don't think you _really_ remember how awful it was, if you're honestly just gonna let it keep going. I mean, what's up with that? What happened to you, you were famous, Castiel! One of Heaven's finest warriors. Strong, _fast_ , tenacious… ehhhh, not as charming as me, of course, and a little too _nosy,_ as we've clearly seen," he added, glaring at Castiel's stoic form.

"Mmm mm."

"Ah ah, watch the language, kiddo. Point is, you were a good soldier, so why can't you just cooperate now? It's these Winchesters, I know. But, Castiel…"

Now, Gabriel got up, leaning forward with his hands on the arms of Castiel's chair. His golden eyes were burning with intensity as he quietly reminded his brother, "… _they_ weren't there. They've only seen what happens when an angelic war craps all over _their_ lives, they didn't see the true devastation. They weren't there for the Fall. They didn't see Heaven get twisted from a _paradise_ to… to… some kind of twisted up dystopian _bureaucracy_."

The room was starting to darken again, as Gabriel got more and more intense. "They didn't have to watch angels _lose_ themselves by fighting a war they'd _never wanted_ , and _they_ didn't have to watch _good angels DIE_ over two brothers' wounded _pride_."

He leaned in closer to Castiel, who shied away. The angel's eyes were determined and stubborn, but once again Gabriel could detect the tremulous fear – of _him_.

Like _he_ was the bad guy here.

Gabriel pulled away, cursing. "Honestly, I'm not the villain, kiddo," he tossed over his shoulder as he turned away.

"Mmmmm mm mmm?"

Eyebrow raised, Gabriel turned back around to see a sarcastic looking Castiel tugging pointedly on his restraints. Gabriel snorted. "Uh, no, that's your own fault, not mine." He ignored the grunted protest that Castiel tried to make, instead going right along with his own train of thought.

"You know what kills me, though?" he asked conversationally. "It might've actually ended there, if it was just Lucifer. I mean, kinda hard to have a war with just one guy, know what I mean? But no, then those others had to rebel, too, and go join him. And see, that's just what I'm talking about, kiddo. If they hadn't started picking sides, there wouldn't have _been_ a war. It woulda all been sunshine and roses, like we thought it was for that little while."

Gabriel's eyes turned distant, the golden light clouding and reflecting a deep-set, undying pain. He turned away from Castiel, whispering, "But for that little while, before the others left… even though Luci was gone, and I hated that, I still… it was just…"

But he trailed off, because how could he possibly make Castiel understand what those days of bliss had been for him? The lesser angel had never been in love, and until recently, probably hadn't even allowed himself to feel _anything_. Trying to describe the feeling of being in love to Castiel would be like trying to describe the indescribable song of the stars to a mortal man who neither knew what music was, nor had ears to hear it in the first place.

* * *

Heaven had been quiet ever since Lucifer had been kicked out. Part of Gabriel didn't like it; he felt uneasy, just as he had when he saw how easily all traces of the battles could be covered up and erased away. He couldn't shake the feeling of something dark hovering in the horizon, though he did his best to ignore that little rain-cloud.

Besides, he had to admit it was an incredible relief to _not_ have to worry about when the next Heaven-shaking fight would be, or who would get hurt.

All the angels seemed to be feeling easier and lighter, so Gabriel didn't re-open the wounds by admitting how hard it was on him to have lost a brother.

Meanwhile, he was spending nearly all his time with Eleanor, which went a long way towards making him feel better.

"Eleanor?" Gabriel knocked on her office door, pausing when he heard a small bang and then the sound of laughter. He smiled and pushed the door open. There was a light cloud of smoke dispersing, the after-effect of some wayward experiment, perhaps? "Hey, I'm the only one who gets to blow stuff up," he cheerfully called through the fog.

"Oh, Gabriel," Eleanor laughed from the floor where she and another young angel sat. "Terriel wanted a sigil that would help him… how did you say it, sweetie?... make an entrance."

"Now _that's_ what I'm talking about!" exclaimed Gabriel in delight, rubbing his hands together as he grinned mischievously.

Eleanor only smiled, getting to her feet and urging the young one to stand up as well. "Terriel, say hello to your brother."

Slowly, Terriel turned around, looking pink-cheeked and nervous. He had grown by leaps and bounds lately, not truly a fledgling anymore, but only just barely out of that stage. Eleanor had told Gabriel affectionately how much the little angel seemed enraptured by the study of sigils, and the archangel knew she'd been teaching him privately.

"Hey, kiddo," he jovially greeted the youth, but Terriel turned even pinker and scuffed the floor with his foot.

"Hello," the little angel whispered quietly back, shyly looking away from the towering archangel. Gabriel grinned wider, sensing the awe emanating from Terriel. Shucks, the kid was scared of him.

"Uh-uh, let's try that again," Gabriel decided, clapping Terriel on the upper arm. "You're an angel of the Lord. Come on, kiddo, put some _gusto_ into it. Look me in the eye and say "hello" like you've just had your big entrance, gimme a _warrior_ hello!"

Terriel smiled at the ground, then took a breath and raised his eyes. They were dark and somber against Gabriel's clear gold. "Hello!" he called again, half shouting as he scuffed his foot once again; in doing so, his scuffing foot made a deliberate line in the sigil, and a column of smoke instantly rose to cloud Terriel with another small bang.

"Oh, now _that's_ what I'm talking about, kiddo!" Gabriel exclaimed in delight as Terriel grinned from ear to ear. "Yeah! Always go for dramatic effect. Ellie, _why_ didn't you ever make that for me?"

"Because you can make a thousand columns of smoke appear with just a thought, and Terriel's grace hasn't matured yet," Eleanor replied as she came forward to take Gabriel's arm, looking up at him with obvious pride shining in her eyes. "And because _I_ didn't make that. Terriel did."

"He what? Really?" The archangel was taken aback, genuinely caught off guard. "Ooookay, so there's _two_ sigil geniuses in Heaven now? Dad help us all," Gabriel grinned, giving Terriel a sincere thumbs up. The young angel smiled bashfully, but straightened up in pride at the compliment.

Eleanor gave him a quick smile of gratitude for the encouragement to Terriel, and that was all the thanks that Gabriel would have ever needed. Snaking an arm around her waist, he declared, "School's out, though, kids, I need to borrow the teacher."

Well, not that he "needed" to, so much as that he just really wanted to spend some time with her. Eleanor's face glowed happily, though, and she clearly wasn't about to protest. Terriel gave them both a respectful nod and then hurried away, leaving Eleanor all for Gabriel.

The archangel let his hand slide down into hers, their eyes meeting briefly. Both of them smiled just from the simple delight of being together. "Come on," Gabriel murmured, leading her out of the office. "Let's walk."

It was one of his favorite things to do: just walking around the Halls and Fields of Heaven with her, going nowhere in particular. There was no rush, no hurry, just the two of them. They'd talk about anything, or nothing at all.

Today, Gabriel led the way through the Halls towards a quiet, more secluded section of Heaven. It was a place to go for solitude, a little nook set apart, with warm, mossy flagstone under foot, a little fountain and pool, and several cushioned benches.

But the real wonder of this little nook, the reason it was Gabriel's favorite place in all of Heaven, was because of the sigil that was still carved into the center of the stone floor, and the unfathomably amazing song that still echoed out of it: the singing of the stars, the very first sigil, and – as far as Gabriel was concerned – a symbol of Eleanor herself, and why he loved her so deeply.

"How are you doing?" she softly asked him now, interrupting his thoughts as they stopped and stood in the nook that had been built around Ellie's sigil. "I know you and Lucifer were close. Are you… are you alright?"

"No," he admitted (something he would have told _no one_ else). The archangel released a sigh. "Not really. I just can't believe he's _gone_ , he taught me everything. Protected me from Michael when I'd played too many jokes on him. Ya know? Luci's my _brother_ , and now… he's just gone."

Besides, Gabriel still couldn't shake the feeling that something immensely terrible was looming over them, that this wasn't finished. But that was a feeling that he shoved aside once again, refusing to let it interfere with his time with Ellie.

She was just nodding, facing him with both her hands in his. Her expression was sympathetic, open, _listening_ to him like his older brothers never had time to do. He didn't really want to talk about this right now, but he knew instinctively that if he _had_ , she would have let him talk all he needed to. Gabriel couldn't help but smile, shaking his head in amazement yet again.

"You really are incredible. You know that, right, sugar?" he murmured, letting go of her hands so that he could wrap his arms around her waist instead, pulling her in close to him. It always left him a little breathless to be _this_ close, yet she never pulled away.

Instead, Eleanor blushed, ducking her head a bit as she argued, "I'm really just an angel, Gabriel. I don't understand why you pay so much attention to me."

With a smirk, Gabriel raised one hand to her cheek, brushing a thumb lightly over the smooth skin. "Yeah, let's get something straight: you've never been 'just' anything." She was incredible, and yet she seemed to regard herself as nothing spectacular, and that was where she was wrong. Gabriel saw past her lowly order, and could never think of her, as he did the others, as "lesser".

She made a sound that was probably meant to be a protest, but didn't say anything more. They had reached a point over so much time together that words just weren't _necessary_ , and there was nothing uncomfortable or awkward in the silence that fell between them. Gabriel was still stroking her cheek, unable to look away from her or tear his thoughts from how desperately he wanted to spend the rest of eternity together with her, his beautiful Eleanor.

How comforting and comfortable it was, just to stand there and _be_ with her, with the joyful song of the cosmos in the background. It almost gave the archangel chills to be surrounded by this much beauty.

"Gabriel," Eleanor whispered after a long moment, pulling away ever so slightly. Her eyes were soft, but burning, lit with passion the way they did when she spoke of her sigils. It was Gabriel's favorite look on her, when she was most truly herself, most truly _alive_.

"Mmm?" he replied as he gently tucked her hair back so he could gaze at her enchantingly captivating face. Eleanor swallowed, closed her eyes, took a breath; Gabriel wondered what she could be steeling herself for, and that was when the air around her began to shimmer.

The archangel inhaled sharply, eyes widening, as realization of what she was doing hit him. He could only stare, feeling weak, as the shimmering air began to solidify into the graceful, stunning curvature of her wings.

Gabriel's mouth opened but he didn't speak, just breathed and stared, as Eleanor revealed her wings for the first time. In the slightly shadowed nook, they were brilliant, radiant, illuminated. They were pure white swan wings, he realized breathlessly – symbolizing purity, grace, commitment, beauty – and the exceptionally downy feathers were luminescent with her grace.

An angel's wings were their most intimate pieces of themselves, though. Even in Heaven, angels kept their wings hidden, but for a few circumstances. Eleanor clearly didn't need him to heal them for her, which left only one possibility: she was willing to share this with him, the sign of _intense_ commitment... as a mate.

"Ellie." Her name was on his tongue without his conscious realization, a whispered word like a fervent prayer. Gabriel's hand rose before he could stop it, but he pulled back and wrested his awe-filled eyes from her wings back to her face. The archangel gave her a questioning look, and Eleanor's soft, graceful smile deepened.

The beautiful angel dipped her head slightly in a nod of permission to him – for he would _never_ dare raise a hand to her wings without her absolute consent – and pressed her wing forward into his trembling hand.

In the instant that he connected with her soft feathers, Gabriel felt her very _soul_ , and there were no words in Heaven or on Earth for the depth of love he felt. For her to allow this from him was the highest of all possible honors, a mark of the _utmost_ trust. This was a bond of the deepest level between angels, and she was giving this to _him_. Their gazes met, his disbelieving and transformed, hers soft and warm and so fiercely passionate.

"Ellie…" It was all he could manage to say, his mind refusing any thoughts but her. The archangel's hand slid over the downy feathers, watching as the motion made a ripple of joy shimmer across her dazzling aura. Eleanor breathed deeply, eyes briefly falling closed in delight but then opening to connect with his gaze once more.

Having laid a hand on her wing, Gabriel never wanted to move from this spot again. In the background, the stars were still singing their joy, but it could no longer match the elation he felt in his own heart. They were transcended above the stars, and Gabriel's own wings fluttered and shifted, pressing through into Heaven's plane.

Eleanor's eyes widened with visible shock. As an archangel, Gabriel's eagle wings were _massive,_ far larger than any lesser angel's, and they were a brilliant, scintillating gold. "Oh…" she breathed, and Gabriel couldn't help ruffling the feathers slightly with pride at eliciting such a reaction, from _her_.

Her hand rose; she hesitated for a second, and Gabriel's face softened into an uncharacteristically gentle gaze. "There's only you, Ellie," he whispered. "You're the only one who could ever touch my soul the way you have."

For that was what an angel's wings _were_ : it was their soul, and Gabriel dipped his wing down into her gentle hand.

The sense of _completeness_ , of true and deep belonging, nearly brought the angels to their knees. They stood there, captured in the moment, each with a hand on the other's wings. Eleanor looked overcome, her brilliant face lit with the light of a hundred suns. "We belong together," she whispered in reply.

They _did_ belong together, but to hear the words openly spoken by someone besides his own mind only served to raise Gabriel higher than his own wings could have flown. He could only nod, a lump in his throat as he stared at this beautiful creature who was somehow claiming him for her own, as though he could live up to such a claim.

"Forever."

There was only one act left to do, and Gabriel didn't stop to question if this was _really_ what he wanted; this is what he had wanted for a long time, beginning with the sigil in this very nook, and culminating through the eons together with her. Slowly, gently, he arched his wing up and out of Eleanor's hand, in order to reach out with the golden feathers, caressing her wings with his own.

In that moment, their very souls were one, an act so dearly intimate that precious few angels had ever gone this far. Their souls _touched_ , literally, a manifestation of oneness and unity that no other living beings could so fully achieve.

Eleanor laughed, not of amusement but of jubilation, as Gabriel squeezed her hands. He couldn't stop smiling, not even if he'd tried. Breath caught in his throat, and warmth spread through every crevice of his being as their wings met in the air above their heads and danced lightly over the other, spread like a vast umbrella to shelter them from any storm.

Fire and joy danced in their hearts as the two stood amidst the sound of singing stars, discovering the feel of each other's wings – the softness of the feathers, the strength in the muscle, the precise angle of every curve and ridge – and learning just what it meant to have bonded as soul mates at last.


	6. Fools Rush In

_The snake had entered the Garden._

Which was really just a fancy way of saying Lucifer had managed to get past Gadreel's guarded post between the ethereal plane and the Earth, where he had been stationed ever since Lucifer had started showing signs of animosity to the humans.

Now Gadreel was in prison, and all the angels were shaken to their core – including Gabriel. He hadn't even known they _had_ a prison in Heaven, and he strongly suspected it had been built solely because they had nothing else to do with Gadreel.

With the way Raphael in particular was getting, though, he was grateful that Gadreel hadn't simply been executed on the spot.

"Okay, so Lucifer's been to Earth now," Gabriel stated with a shrug, trying to plead to Michael on Gadreel's behalf. "We've _all_ been to Earth, what's the big deal?"

"What's the big- Gabriel, you cannot be serious." Michael stared at him incredulously, an angry light in his eyes. "You cannot be this naïve, you're no longer a fledgling! I know you love Lucifer, Gabriel, but the Homo sapiens have been corrupted by him!"

"Corrupted?" Gabriel repeated, waving his brother off. The humans had reached a more or less final level of growth, but Gabriel honestly didn't see what the big deal about them was. "Ah, come on, so they're a little dirty and ignorant-"

"Gabriel, wake up!" Stepping forward, Michael gripped Gabriel's upper arms in a fierce grip, making even the archangel's forced lightness fall away as he winced in surprise. His elder brother's face held no animosity, though, only a sad and slightly apologetic hardness. "The human souls were supposed to come join us in Heaven when they expired, Gabriel. Lucifer offered them a choice, don't you understand? They're not clean, they can go to Hell. HELL, Gabriel, with Lucifer! Gadreel let him in, and now humanity is tainted! He's ruined _everything_."

"Okay, but... but Michael, how was Gadreel going to stop him, really? I mean, he's an _archangel,_ and you know Lucifer, once he gets his mind set on something-"

"Stop, Gabriel! Please, just stop! I do not wish to speak of Lucifer any further and I forbid you to bring it up again! I told everyone it would come to this, and now it has, and that's that."

That was _it_ , Gabriel was positively over Michael's attitude. With a furious glare, he snapped his fingers, and all of Heaven came to a dead halt. Michael was frozen in place, an icy frown still pointed at Gabriel. Time had stopped, forced to a standstill by Gabriel's power. The younger archangel pointed at his older brother, snapping,

"Seriously, what is your problem?! You forbid me, really? You _forbid_ me?! Who do you think you are, Michael!?"

Michael didn't answer; time had stopped for him, and he wouldn't even know this one-sided conversation had occurred, which gave Gabriel free reign to get this off his chest. Ellie _had_ said he shouldn't bottle these things up. This was his chance to say it to Michael's face, not that it would matter.

"You know, it's that damn superiority that caused half this mess to begin with! You and Luci just can't help yourselves, can you?! If it's not him being all puffed up and proud, it's _you_ being all arrogant and bossy, like you can forbid me to do anything! Newsflash, bro: _you're not Dad!_ What I wouldn't give to bring you down a peg or two, Michael! I'm so sick of your attitude, I really am. And if you can't be bothered to listen to me, then I'll just have to do this myself!"

With an irritated huff, Gabriel snapped his fingers again, rant over, and time started ticking once again. Michael had no idea there had even been a pause, as he glared at Gabriel and flew off, clearly done listening.

Fine. If no one else was going to try and bring the brothers together, then Gabriel would do it on his own.

"I gotta go see him," Gabriel told Eleanor later. "I have to see Lucifer. I'm sure this can all be cleared up."

"What? Gabriel, no, please," Eleanor begged, clutching the front of his robes as her face drained of all color. "You're talking about Hell, about being alone with _Lucifer_. Don't go, please don't go."

Gabriel blinked in surprise at the intensity of her pleas. "Lucifer's not gonna hurt me, sugar. He's my _brother_."

"That didn't stop him before. He almost killed you once before, and that was without really even trying."

"He didn't mean to, it was an accident," Gabriel reminded her, recalling the time he'd tried to stop Lucifer and Michael from fighting. "And, he healed me right away, remember? It'll be fine."

"Gabriel, _please_. You heard what he did. The humans, Gabriel. They weren't meant for Hell, but if what they say is true, then Lucifer damned them just because he could. Just for spite. I know you love Lucifer-"

"Why does everyone keep saying that?!" Gabriel interrupted her sharply. "This is _Luci_ , we should be trying to figure out a way to smooth things over so he can come home, so we can all be a family again! I'm going to see him, Eleanor!"

His snapping tone made her look away with a wince, and Gabriel instantly felt guilty. The archangel sighed, taking her hands and giving them a squeeze. "I won't be gone long," he told her, softer now.

"No, _we_ won't be gone long," she corrected him, meeting his eyes again fiercely. "You're not going in there alone."

Gabriel couldn't help but smile affectionately as he shook his head again. "There's that beautiful, brave side of you again, Ellie. Dad help me, but I love you for it."

"Brave? I'm terrified."

"Exactly." Pulling Eleanor in close, Gabriel closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against hers. "You're never going anywhere near Hell, and that's final," he murmured, shuddering at the very thought. "Let's just… sit here for a bit, okay?"

Eleanor sighed, but allowed him to hold her there. They didn't speak again for a moment, enjoying the brief peace to sink over them. Gabriel knew without a doubt that she _would_ follow him into Hell, but he couldn't allow such a pure soul to travel to such a terrible place, even if only for a while.

"I just need you to stay there, I need you to be safe," he whispered, one hand settling on her cheek to rub it gently with one thumb. "I need-"

"Wait." Eleanor straightened, eyeing Gabriel closely. She was suddenly tense, her grip on his arms tightening. "You need me to stay… 'there'?"

Oops.

"Here," Gabriel quickly amended, but he knew he'd already screwed the pooch. Of all times for her to be quick on the uptake! " _Here_ , in Heaven."

Eleanor pushed away from him. Her suspicious gaze was putting the pieces together as only her sharp mind could. A furious light flashed in her normally clear eyes, and Gabriel winced. "Gabriel," she snapped coolly, "where are you?"

"What are you talking about?" he asked with a nervous laugh. "I'm right here-"

"No! Where are you _really_!? Gabriel, _where are you_?!" Her voice rose in panic as she whirled around in search of the archangel. Gabriel winced again, feeling her fear for him. She wasn't supposed to have realized she was talking to a projection, or that he'd even left, until he was safely back. " _Gabriel_!"

"It's too late to follow me," he warned her, since there was clearly no point in trying to fool her anymore. "Listen, Ellie-"

"You _IDIOT!_ How could you go _ALONE_!? Gabriel, why would you _do_ this!? We're supposed to be in this _together_! You _LIED_ to me!"

Aw shit, she was _really_ pissed. Archangel or not, Gabriel knew better than to take that lightly. But it was better than risking her life in Hell. "Eleanor, _listen_ ," he spoke up urgently. "I'll be fine. But you gotta stay there. This is no time to lose your head, okay? Look… we made a promise to not die, remember? I'm coming back, I promise you, but I have to at least try to talk to Lucifer. Ellie, _please_ calm down. I need you."

She exhaled, her flashing, panicked eyes falling closed. Gabriel had never seen her _this_ out of sorts, and deeply regretted having had to do this to her. But as always, she managed to pull together. "Fine, you're right," she said through gritted teeth. "I'll give you as long as it ought to take to find Lucifer and talk to him… and if you're not back soon, I'm going right to Michael and Raphael so they can go after you."

"Okay, good, that's good."

"And Gabriel?" Her eyes opened, and the powerful archangel gulped. "When you get back, we're having words."

"Yes, dear." He stood there for a second, before Eleanor glared at him and made a shooing motion with her hand.

"You need to focus on what you're doing! You can't do that if part of you is here, go!"

It was true, he really needed his full attention on where he was going, given that the real Gabriel was already most of the way to Hell by now. The projection he'd created of himself slid out of existence in a quick wave, and Gabriel frowned with concentration as he flew through the ether.

Hell wasn't accessible by just a blink of the eyes; the ethereal plane didn't reach into that Underworld. He'd have to cross into the Void first, the barren wasteland of utter nothingness that led into the bowels of existence. Gabriel shuddered as he allowed the inky blackness to pull him in, horrified at the thought of his brother condemned to stay here for all eternity.

But surely they could fix this.

It was disorienting to try and fly through the Void, with nothing tangible to guide him or help navigate. But it only led to one place, and all downward roads ended in the Pit.

When Gabriel finally emerged into Hell, it took everything he had not to vomit. The stench of neglect and decay was overwhelming, and he blanched as the foul, sulfurous stink hit his senses. "Whooo… a bit of a fixer-upper, this place," he said out loud, trying to lighten his own mood so he could keep going. Rolling his shoulders, feeling his powerful wings flexing in preparation to fly at the first hint of necessity, Gabriel turned in a slow circle.

"Lucifer!" he shouted into the vast, horrid desert. Clouds of ash fluttered by on a non-existent breeze, while plumes of gaseous fumes erupted from the ground sporadically. Everything there was dead, and it made his skin crawl horribly with nerves and revulsion. This place was what defined the word "God-forsaken", in every possible way. "Hey! Luci! Where are you?"

"Gabriel?"

He spun back around at the sound of his name. "Luci!" Gabriel was delighted to have found his brother so quickly; he'd been worried it might take a while, prompting Eleanor to send in his older brothers before Gabriel was ready for them. "You're a sight for sore eyes, bro."

Far from looking happy to see him, though, Lucifer was frowning. He seemed almost confused, studying Gabriel with an air of suspicion before finally stating flatly,

"I didn't call you."

Whatever _that_ meant. "Huh? Whatever, Lucifer, look, I gotta talk to you. About coming home."

Lucifer just stared at him, still suspicious, but his expression finally relaxed into a cool blankness. The elder archangel shook his head. "You shouldn't have come here, Gabriel. Go back."

"No, I won't! What's going on, Luci? Gadreel's been arrested, Michael says you corrupted humanity, something about you giving humans the choice to come here instead of Heaven?"

Lucifer only shrugged, taking Gabriel by surprise. He'd been expecting a protest, an explanation, some rational reason why Lucifer would have done something like that. He waited, but Lucifer only continued to stare at him. It was disconcerting.

"Wh- Luci! What, you mean you _did_ do it? On purpose?" Damn it, he'd been happier in denial! "Why? Just because Dad started paying more attention to them? We're talking about _Hell_ , Lucifer! Look, just… just come back, and say you're sorry, and-"

"Gabriel, you must be joking."

The younger archangel glared. "Uh, no! I'm actually being pretty damn serious!"

With a sigh, Lucifer turned away from Gabriel, clasping his hands behind his back. For a moment, neither spoke; Gabriel had the feeling that Lucifer was trying to put his thoughts in order, and he waited with the full expectation of a reasonable response.

Finally, Lucifer slowly said, "Gabriel, you can't be that naive. I've been banished from Heaven. Apologizing wouldn't get me back in, even if I was sorry."

Gabriel was getting sick of being called naive, just because he seemed to be the only angel trying to fix this instead of break it further. "What do you mean 'if'? Don't you wanna come home? Bro, come on, we're angels, we belong in Heaven… together! Not… not _here_." Hell was making him nauseated, the longer he stood here. Gabriel couldn't even feel Heaven anymore, he felt no connection to the Heavenly Host, and that feeling made him feel sick and empty and alone. How could Lucifer stand this?

"Oh… don't worry, I'll be back in Heaven eventually," Lucifer assured him with the same cool, indifferent tone. If Gabriel hadn't been so focused on how terrible Hell was, he might have felt a chill even in this steamy, loathsome atmosphere at the concealed threat that the words carried.

All Gabriel could think, though, was that he couldn't give up trying to reason with his brother. "Come on, this isn't worth it," he tried, spreading his arms out pleadingly. "Over some humans? Really?"

Spinning back around towards him, Lucifer glared as a flash of disgust spread across his features. "The humans," he growled distastefully. "Let me ask you, Gabriel. What would _you_ do? Would you serve these wretched, pitiful things, like Michael? Or would you do something about it, like me? Are you not angry, brother? Are you not insulted by the honor they receive, when _we_ were first?!"

Gabriel dropped his arms with a frustrated sigh. "Honestly?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "I don't care. I don't _care_ , Luci, it doesn't matter. Forget the humans, I just want you and Michael to kiss and make up so we can all go home together."

For another long moment, Lucifer didn't say anything. He was back to staring at his brother, and Gabriel hoped this was a sign that maybe some of what he'd said had actually gotten through. Slowly, though, Lucifer began to shake his head.

"So you would do nothing, how predictable. That's exactly why I didn't call you," he muttered.

"What do you mean, you didn't call me?!" demanded Gabriel, getting more and more frustrated.

In response, Lucifer suddenly shifted his gaze, looking over Gabriel's shoulder. Gabriel frowned, then turned quickly around as he felt his grace twinge slightly in recognition.

There were six more angels standing there, apparently having just arrived as they all looked around warily; when they recognized Gabriel, all six of them tensed and glared at him.

"What's _he_ doing here?!" one of the six demanded harshly. Gabriel blinked in surprise. What? What were _they_ doing here?

"Mephistopheles?" he asked in confusion, recognizing the one who had spoken. What was he doing here, though? Gabriel allowed his eyes to slide over the others. Mammon, Beezlebub, Asmodeus, Belphegor, Beliel… all among the first of the angels created, and all strong warriors. The looks they were giving _him,_ though, had his invisible wings starting to bristle.

"Lucifer," Belphegor greeted the other archangel, giving him a respectful nod before turning distrusting eyes back to Gabriel. "But why _is_ this one here?"

"Uh… this one?" Gabriel repeated, his wings starting to bristle. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. He turned back to Lucifer, eyes questioning, to find that his brother was still staring at him coolly. "Luci?"

"Like I said, Gabriel. I didn't call you. You shouldn't have come here."

" _Luci_?"

The other angels were starting to circle now, glaring at him in mistrust and anger. Gabriel saw six angel blades slide down into their hands as they formed a ring around him, distinctly and unmistakably threatening. Asmodeus was shaking his head. "He's with Michael!" he snarled accusingly.

"But don't worry," sneered Mammon, twirling his angel blade. "We'll take care of him right here and now."


	7. The Great Schism

Gabriel eyed the six angels hemming him in, and he grinned recklessly. "Ohhh, you're looking for a tussle?" He released his own blade into his hand, smiling even wider as he wiggled his eyebrows at his unexpected opponents. "Just stay away from this handsome face, 'k boys?"

"Stand down," Lucifer snapped at the angels, rolling his eyes. "Back off, you six. Now."

"But, Lucifer!" Asmodeus protested, gesturing to Gabriel with his blade. "He'll report back to Michael and Raphael that we've joined you!"

Part of Gabriel had been clinging to a fool's hope that this wasn't what it looked like, that there was some comically tragic misunderstanding going on, and nothing more. His heart broke as he heard the admission from the angels' own mouths, though: they were leaving Heaven, choosing sides.

And, apparently, they were willing to fight him because they thought _he_ was choosing sides as well. Gabriel had never killed another angel before, but the first who attacked him would be sorry they did. He'd promised Eleanor he'd come home alive.

"First of all, I intend for Michael and Raphael to know," Lucifer snapped, glaring dangerously. "Second, how exactly do you propose to 'take care of him', as you put it? He _is_ an archangel, in case you'd forgotten."

"Yes, but by my count," snarled Beliel, gripping his blade tighter, "there's six of us and only one of him."

Gabriel smirked, standing casually at ease instead of shifting to a fighting stance – but his wings, had they been able to see them, were flared in a towering, terrifying position for attack, belying his untroubled, insouciant attitude. "Well, go get some backup, then," he drawled with a cocky wink. "I don't mind waiting."

"I said, _stand down_ ," Lucifer repeated, his sharp voice rising and filling with Authority. The angels obeyed, holding their positions instead of rushing in, but they looked perplexed. Mephistopheles shook his head, demanding,

"You're defending him? After what the other archangels did to you?"

Lucifer snorted. "Defending him? I'm saving your lives." His eyes bored into Gabriel, who met his gaze now. If Lucifer could see how broken Gabriel felt beneath his cocky, smirking mask, he didn't acknowledge it. Instead, the dark archangel kept watching him and calmly said, "He's just putting you off your guard. My brother might act like a fledgling… but he's still one of the most dangerous warriors alive."

Finally, his eyes tore away from Gabriel, glaring at the six angels, as he finished coldly, "Only a fool would forget that. He would cut you down before you could blink, so do as I say and put up your blades. They won't work on him anyway."

"Aww, Luci, you're giving away all my tricks!" Gabriel forced the cheery, slightly over-dramatic attitude, a shield to hide his pain from these six angels – apparently now enemies. It was an act that he'd always played well.

"I'm the one who taught you your tricks, brother," Lucifer pointed out, unaffected. "I remember our own tussles well. I have no wish to fight with you, Gabriel. But I knew you wouldn't join me, either."

"So that's what you meant about not calling me. You're asking other angels to leave Heaven… for _this_? Luci..." How could Gabriel's heart possibly break any more? He shook his head, feeling wearier than he had ever felt as his mask slipped away. How could these angels so willingly give up their home, and look at him with such hatred now though he'd done nothing to them? "Lucifer, just stop all of this. Please. Just come home."

Lucifer eyed him for a moment, then sighed. For just a quick second, Gabriel almost thought he saw a hint of regret in his brother's face, but perhaps that was just what he wanted to see, because all Lucifer could say was,

"I didn't start this, Gabriel. But I _will_ finish it. I know this isn't what you wanted."

It wasn't an apology (more of a dismissal than anything) but it would have to do. If the dark archangel couldn't even admit that he _was_ half responsible for starting this, then there was no way Gabriel was going to change Lucifer's mind. Slowly, sadly, Gabriel turned to go. The oppressive air of Hell was starting to suffocate him, and he suddenly just wanted to be in Eleanor's arms.

Before he could take wing, though, Lucifer spoke up one last time.

"Gabriel."

The younger archangel turned, hopeful, but Lucifer's eyes were dark and cold.

"So far, you've shown me no enmity, which is why I'm letting you go. But I'm warning you once, and only once, brother: go home and stay out of this. Stand against me, and I _will_ kill you, no matter how much it pains me."

He could do it, too. The other six angels stood not the slightest chance against Gabriel, but the archangel knew that Lucifer's sword _could_ kill him.

But to hear Lucifer, his beloved brother, tell him so easily that he would kill him, shattered the remaining pieces of Gabriel's heart. He could only nod, throat tight and stomach clenching, before turning his back and letting his wings pull him into the Void.

Gabriel barely remembered the long trip back, heavy-hearted and upset. He knew he should go straight to Michael and fill him in on what was going on, but instead he shot through the ethereal plane and directly to Eleanor's office. He needed her, and she had never once let him down.

As he'd expected, she was waiting for him. It looked like she'd been pacing the room anxiously, but as soon as he flew in, she spun around with tears in her eyes.

"Gabriel!" she cried, launching straight into him and throwing her arms around his neck. "Oh my… Gabriel, are you alright? I'm going to _kill_ you! Are you hurt? Did he hurt you, Gabriel?" Eleanor didn't even give him time to answer, breaking off her swift hug so she could pull back and check him for signs of injury. "What happened? I could wring your neck! Did you find him? What were you  _thinking_?!"

"Yeah… yeah, I found him," Gabriel replied heavily, feeling even worse when he heard the devastating panic in her voice, knowing just how frightened for him she'd been.

"And was it worth it?! Was it worth lying to me, leaving me here alone with nothing to do but wonder if you'd come back?! Was it?" Her hands danced over his skin in further search for wounds, still checking him over even while so mad at him.

"Look, I know you're angry-"

"No, I'm furious!" she shouted, now walking behind him and running a hand over his shoulder blades, as though to detect any wounds to his wings. "You lied to me, you didn't even talk to me first, you just went off, when we're supposed to be in this together. Together, Gabriel! That was _stupid_!"

"Eleanor, I was trying to protect you-"

"Well, you didn't!" Even pitched in anger, there was still so much fear evident in Eleanor's voice, and Gabriel closed his eyes. "Protect me from what, getting hurt? I _was_ hurting, I was in _agony_ every second you were gone, knowing that anything could be happening and I couldn't do anything to help! How do you think that was for me, Gabriel?! I would have rather been hurt by him than by you! What if something had happened to you?!"

"I'm not hurt-"

"And I'm not finished! So you didn't want me to go, we could have compromised, I could have given you some protective sigils, we could have found another angel to go with you as backup!" She'd circled around now, grabbing his hands and holding them up for her inspection, making her way up his arms. There were glittering tears tracing down her cheeks, as though Gabriel didn't already feel bad enough.

This day really couldn't get any worse.

"Ellie…"

"What were you thinking?! What-" Eleanor's frantic hands had wandered up his shoulders and neck, her desperate visual inspection stopping with his face. It was only now that she actually looked him in the eye, and whatever she could see there brought her tirade to a swift halt. Her icy glare vanished, leaving behind a soft concern. "Gabriel?"

Gabriel didn't say a word, just watched her miserably. Slowly, he shook his head, knowing that if he tried to talk, he'd probably fall apart.

Fortunately, Eleanor knew – as always – exactly what he needed. "Oh, Gabriel…" she murmured softer. "Shhh… come here."

There were no further words exchanged, as she pulled him down to sit with her on the floor, leaning against the wall. Eleanor wrapped her arms around Gabriel, letting his head settle on her chest as she stroked his hair gently. "Shhh…" she whispered as his body began to shake with grief.

Gabriel allowed himself this rare moment of vulnerability. His family was not going to come back together. The hope he'd been holding on to since the fighting had started was gone now, shattered like glass on the floor, leaving bloody shards in its wake. His family meant _everything_ to him, but apparently, to his brothers, it meant nothing at all.

That wasn't something he could just instantly bounce back from.

For a long while, he couldn't even tell her what had happened. The archangel closed his eyes tightly, soaking in the desperately needed comfort as he tried in vain to forget the way the six angels had looked at him as their enemy – his _brothers_.

But his effort to forget Lucifer's words were all the more desperate, and all the more futile. Lucifer, who knew him better than anyone besides Eleanor herself, and the coldness that surrounded him, shifting his aura from dazzling white to menacing ice… what was Gabriel supposed to do?

"Ellie… I found him," he eventually managed to whisper. His eyes were tightly closed. "He's not coming back. He _did_ corrupt the humans. He doesn't even wanna come home." Gabriel sighed. "How can our family mean so little to them… Michael and Lucifer, and Raphael hasn't even tried to help… how can they just not care if we're together or not? And Ellie... it's worse than I thought."

Her soothing stroking paused, and Gabriel sat up, twisting towards her and catching that gentle hand with his own. His eyes were sad as he met her gaze. Haltingly, he told her about the other angels who had arrived while he was there (neglecting to mention that they'd been stupid enough to think they could kill him). Eleanor was clearly horrified, her huge eyes filling with alarm.

"And this is just the beginning, I can _feel_ it," he finished tightly. "I don't even know how many he's 'called', but Luci thinks big. He always has. He's not gonna stop with six, he'll keep calling them… and, I- I think… I think more will go." He would have laughed at the idea before, deeming it preposterous.

Now, though, having seen the actual hatred with which those angels had glared at him, he wasn't so sure. If they had left, others would, too.

"Gabriel, you're talking about a war."

Exactly. Heavy-hearted, feeling too tired to even stand, let alone bring news of this to Michael, Gabriel nevertheless climbed to his feet. "I gotta tell Michael and Raphael."

Eleanor nodded her understanding, also climbing to her feet. "I can go with you."

Her steadfastness and loyalty made Gabriel's heart ache with love, but he shook his head. "Nah, stay here, sugar. I'm just gonna get in, tell 'em what happened, and get out. I'll be back."

* * *

Admitting to his eldest brothers that he'd traveled to Hell in search of their rebel brother, bearing the news of the other angels' betrayals, was the last thing Gabriel really wanted to do. Nevertheless, he followed the pull of their powerful grace, wending his way through the Halls until he came to a massive, marble corridor where they liked to spend their time. It was cool and hollow, not entirely unlike Lucifer had been, and Gabriel shuddered.

"Gabriel, there you are!" Raphael called as he caught sight of him. The two eldest archangels were locked in a spar, their blades flashing with white light. "Just in time to see me put big brother back in his place!"

"Hah, I believe you meant just in time to see you get your ass handed to you," retorted Michael in a rare good mood. "You're welcome to try next, Gabriel, but I doubt you would fare any better!"

Great. The first time in a hundred years that Michael wasn't scowling over something, and Gabriel would _have_ to come bearing bad news.

For that matter, how could Michael be in such a good mood at all, with Lucifer gone? Unless that was why he was so cheerful, and Gabriel suddenly felt an urge to knock his brother's lights out.

"Michael."

Gabriel was so rarely serious that the tone of his voice alone made the sparring archangels pause, their blades lowering as they turned towards him. Michael was immediately frowning again.

"What's the matter, little brother? Is this about Gadreel again? I've told you, he's lucky that life in prison is all he's getting, but we're not in the habit of executing our own."

Suddenly, inexplicably, _terrifyingly_ , Gabriel's first thought was _"Yeah, give it time."_ But that was crazy, of course. This was Heaven, they didn't execute angels.

"No, it's not about Gadreel." Heavily, Gabriel began the story all over again, leaving out only Eleanor's knowledge of what he'd done. Every other detail, he told in full, hoping that perhaps Michael could talk to the rest of the Heavenly Host, convince them that no matter what Lucifer said, they should all stick together and stay where they belonged.

His two brothers reacted exactly as he'd predicted. Raphael was the one who exploded; Michael just got quieter and quieter, while his face darkened with an increasingly turbulent shadow.

Gabriel didn't reply as Raphael demanded how he could have been so stupid, what he'd thought he would accomplish, why the other six had betrayed them, what was wrong with Lucifer in the first place, and on and on. There was no point in responding; Raphael would just have to yell himself out.

Michael, though, was starting to crackle. He was the one who Gabriel watched warily, noting the clenching fists, the tightening jaw, the silent wrath that was gathering. Time to make a hasty retreat.

"Anyway… just thought you should know," he muttered with a shrug. "Maybe you can talk to everyone, get them to see that this isn't the answer."

He turned and left quickly. Neither of the two tried to stop him, fortunately, but Raphael was still ranting and Michael was still gathering grace like an impending bolt of lightning. Gabriel didn't care anymore, he'd done his duty and now the ball was in Michael's court. All he himself wanted to do was go back to Eleanor and give her his wings to sooth with her gentle, nurturing hands.

She, as always, knew before he'd even flown in exactly what was needed. Eleanor didn't say a word, just pulled Gabriel into her arms as their wings shifted into Heaven's plane, caressing each other with all the warmth and comfort of their combined soul.

* * *

It didn't take long for Michael to react. The entire Heavenly Host was gathered in the Halls, angels innumerable as far as the eye could see. There was no need to pack them in any closer; Michael's voice resonated not only off the marble, but through the mind of every angel.

"I understand that some of you have been listening to or even _talking_ to our outcast brother," he boomed from the head of the gathering. Gabriel felt Eleanor squeeze his hand in warning as he bristled: Michael wouldn't even call Lucifer by name. He didn't rise, but listened stonily in the hopes that Michael would take charge of this before it got further out of hand.

The talk went on, mostly just retellings of Lucifer's misdeeds and not so subtle reminders that Michael had been the one to carry out the order to cast him out – and he was certainly strong enough to cast out any others if need be.

To say the least, it wasn't exactly what Gabriel had had in mind.

"So," Michael finished after spending far too much time listening to himself talk, in Gabriel's opinion, "I'll say this one final time. My orders come from our _Father_ , so my word is law and you will not question me. You will not contradict me. You will not disobey me. And if _anyone_ here wishes to contend this…" He paused here, eyes sweeping the gathering; Gabriel was surprised when the gaze lingered briefly on him, as though he had any desire to get involved. "…then I will settle matters with you."

It was abundantly clear that by "settle with", Michael meant "fight". No one was stupid enough to take Michael on, and no one moved.

"Does this mean we are all expected to bow to these… humans?" a snide voice called from the back. The Hall darkened as Michael clenched his fists and took a step forward.

"You are all expected to obey orders, and if that means bow… You. Will. Bow."

This was _not_ how to handle a charged atmosphere, Gabriel thought in panic. He could feel the uneasiness starting to settle over the angels around him, and without thinking, he flew forward and joined Michael at the head of the assembly. Both the other archangels gave him a warning glare, but he just beamed out at the angels with a smooth easiness that he didn't remotely feel.

"I mean, guys, let's be honest here," he piped up, flashing a winning grin at the front row of angels and winking. "Have any of you seen these humans? Boy, tell you what, talk about _needing_ some help, am I right?"

A couple of the angels who had been to Earth, watching over the humans unseen, traded looks and nodded. Gabriel gestured to them, grinning wider. "Cute little things, huh? And who's gonna look out for them if not us? I mean, we already kicked the Leviathan's slimy asses, didn't we?"

There was a murmur of consent, several of the older warriors smirking and raising fists in a salute. Gabriel was glad, because he had no idea what he was doing. He didn't dare turn to see Michael or Raphael's reaction to his interference.

"Of course we did, cause we're the biggest, baddest boys around, aren't we?"

"Damn right!" someone yelled; he thought it might have been Ezekiel and he silently thanked the warrior. A couple of angels cheered.

"Man, it's a good thing these humans got us watching out for 'em, have you seen what passes for weapons with these guys? Pointy bits of wood, oh _that's_ useful, what're they gonna do… invite their enemies to a weenie roast?"

There was a burst of laughter, more knowing looks being traded. Gabriel felt the tension easing away, but there was a simmering anger from behind him. Michael was gonna kick his ass, he just knew it, but Gabriel didn't care. Giving the crowd another disarming smile, Gabriel yelled, "But never fear, _we're_ on patrol, baby!"

His hands flew up in the air and there was a crash as fireworks exploded in brilliant red and gold high over their heads. His specialty _was_ theatrics, after all, and the angels erupted into cheers, shouting approval.

"Who better to protect these guys than an angel?" Gabriel yelled. They cheered again. Gabriel grinned widely, letting them work themselves up, before holding his hands out to quiet them down. They responded instantly, to his surprise. "I mean, guys, come on. That's what this is about, ya know? We just gotta look out for these humans, that's all. So let's stick together and do what we gotta do, and make Dad proud. Whaddya say?"

Again, the crowd roared with agreement, still cheering as Gabriel grinned and gave them another wave. His eye caught Eleanor and she nodded slightly, but then her gaze flicked over his shoulder and back to him. Gabriel nodded, understanding her silent warning that Michael wasn't happy. He was really in for it, now.

Slowly, he turned to Michael, waiting until his face was completely hidden from the cheering angels behind him before letting the grin slide away.

"They're all yours, bro," he murmured under the cover of their ruckus. "Maybe we can still avoid a war."

But if only that were so.


	8. Dichotomy of Power

_Present day_

"I don't think losing so many angels to Lucifer's side was all Michael's fault," Gabriel informed Castiel cheerfully as he lazily leaned back in his chair. "Ah, that's the spot, baby."

He'd snapped his fingers to make three rather scantily clad women materialize in the room with them, and one was occupied with rubbing his shoulders, helping ease the constant tension. The other two, upon his order, were circling Castiel seductively, for no reason but his pure amusement of watching the younger angel squirm.

"Mmm mm," Castiel muttered uncomfortably into the gag, shying away from the girl who was running her fingertips up the arms of his trench coat. He looked adorably terrified to have a female so close.

Gabriel grinned. "Not much experience with the ladies, huh?" he interrupted his own story to say. "Come on _,_ Castiel! That's one of the _best parts_ of being in a human body! Don't tell me you haven't gotten down and dirty with any of these humans. How do you _not_ have Nephilim runnin' all over the place, you heart-breaker?"

When Castiel's eyes snapped over to Gabriel in horror, the archangel just smirked and held up his hands. "Hey, I'm very careful, they're not _mine_." He paused, looking up with a thoughtful frown, then amended, "At least… I don't think any of 'em are mine. Huh... Anyway, whatever, not the point. We were talking about Michael."

Castiel was still trying to shift away from the women who were rubbing his hair and neck, but Gabriel ignored this. "Michael always was better at fighting than PR. But Lucifer?" Gabriel whistled. "That one could talk Samson into a barber shop! I think that's why before we knew what was going on, a whole garrison worth of angels left who would rather fight for him."

His face darkened, the smile slipping a bit. Gabriel had tried, he'd really tried, but so many angels had listened to Lucifer, turning their backs on Heaven and their family. One garrison's worth of angels was still vastly outnumbered by the Heavenly Host, of course… but that had only been the beginning, and Lucifer had found other ways to fill his ranks as well, other resources to use.

But that was getting ahead of the story.

"Living with Michael after that, of course… ugh." Gabriel shuddered, an exaggerated grimace on his face. "Well, you remember. The guy was impossible, he really was. Hey, I love him as much as the next guy, but talk about a stick up the ass!"

Castiel looked away, but there was an expression of agreement on his face, which made Gabriel smirk. "Yeah, you _do_ remember," the archangel noted with a nod. "And you remember me having to save your sorry ass from him, more than once, I might add? Cause _I_ remember having to save your sorry ass, and this is how you repay me? By coming in here and screwing up my witness protection?"

Gabriel clicked his tongue, shaking his head. Not very appreciative, his little brother. But then, Castiel had always been good at questioning just a little too much… he'd always thought just a little too much for himself, and he'd ended up on the wrong side of Michael from the moment he'd become a soldier.

Almost literally, that very moment.

* * *

Well, this all pretty much sucked. An entire garrison was gone, off to Hell to join Lucifer and his crusade against the humans. Gabriel still hadn't gotten to _really_ talk to Ellie, so there was that tension still going on. Michael was giving him the stink eye at every turn, because Gabriel had interfered with his whole big and bad attitude in front of the assembly. Not to mention, Michael and Raphael were both becoming increasingly stricter and harder on the other angels, like they hadn't already been bad enough.

Besides all of that, there was still the heartbreak of knowing that Lucifer really had no interest in rejoining their family, so Gabriel was feeling rather downer than usual as he moved through the Halls by himself.

Maybe he should go have that talk with Eleanor, but he was sort of avoiding it; Gabriel had never been good at facing up to problems. Easier to avoid them and paste on a grin, even though Eleanor would never let that stand for long.

Maybe he should just go talk to her…

Gabriel was debating on the best way to break that ice when something solid collided with him hard enough for the something to bounce back and fall to the floor with a grunt. The archangel staggered slightly, but caught himself.

"Whooooa, where's the fire, kiddo?" he asked, eyeing the solid object: Castiel. The young angel froze, looking up at him in dismay as he registered who he'd just collided with.

"I- Gabriel… I'm- I'm sorry… I didn't mean to- I wasn't watching… I…"

Gabriel sighed internally. He sort of missed Castiel being a fledgling; fledglings didn't care if he was an archangel, they just knew that he was the big brother who'd throw them the highest, teach them how to make things blow up, let them hide behind him giggling when Michael sternly asked who was making all the ruckus.

Now that his favorite fledgling was grown, Gabriel was The Archangel, in capital letters, and to the angels, that meant someone to be intimidated by – especially now that Michael and Raphael's attitudes had worsened so vastly.

Smirking, Gabriel waved him off and held out a hand to pull the young angel to his feet. "Ehh, forget it. What's gotcha all so hot and bothered?"

"Oh." There was an almost bashful look on Castiel's face, as he held a hand out and turned it palm up; a gleaming, silver blade appeared in his grip. "I… I made it," he announced proudly, standing up a little straighter. Gabriel's eyebrows rose, and his smirk split into a grin.

"You made an angel blade!" he exclaimed, recognizing this as a huge deal for a young angel. The ability to fly into the ethereal plane and use their fully matured grace to create an angel blade was a rite of passage, the only requirement to serving as a warrior for Heaven. He knew Castiel had been waiting for this for ages.

"Aww, 'iddle Castiel's all grown up!" Gabriel snickered, as he reached out to muss up the angel's hair, just as he'd always done when Castiel was a fledgling.

"Gabriel!" Castiel protested (just as he always had as a fledgling) and batted Gabriel's hand away to flatten his hair again. It only made the archangel grin wider in affection and nostalgia. Good, he wanted Castiel to feel at ease. Gabriel didn't mind awe – they _should_ be in awe of him, he was damn awesome – but he didn't like the thought of his own brothers being scared of him.

"So, big scary warrior, you presented it to Michael yet?"

Michael was traditionally the one to assign new soldiers to garrisons, but Castiel only swallowed and looked away. "Oh… um… no."

Unlike Gabriel, Michael would be delighted to know that Castiel and the other angels were intimidated by him. Seemed like a funny way to take command, in Gabriel's opinion, but Michael hadn't asked for his opinion. Gabriel just grinned at Castiel, throwing an arm about his brother's shoulders and suggesting,

"Tell ya what, kiddo. New soldiers usually get assigned another angel to work with 'em before being stationed. You know, a steady hand to teach you young bucks a thing or two." Shrugging, Gabriel gave Castiel a wink and finished, "I don't usually do this, but I'd help you out – _if_ you promise not to let word get around. You know, reputations and all that."

It was worth the trouble of making the offer just to see Castiel's eyes light up with surprised excitement, but before the angel could answer, there was a powerful flapping of wings, and Michael had arrived in a whirl of robes and scowls.

"Gabriel, there you are," he announced with an insufferably haughty lift of his chin. "You-" Michael broke off, turning his attention to Castiel, who instantly straightened again and tried to look fierce.

"Michael," Castiel quickly greeted his brother respectfully, keeping his eyes straight like a soldier at inspection.

"Yes?"

The impatience in Michael's voice made Castiel swallow slightly, but Gabriel was pleased when his younger brother stepped forward instead of shrinking back. Castiel held out his newly fashioned blade across his palms, offering it for examination.

"I wish to serve as a soldier," he announced formally, also raising his chin. Michael eyed him, then took the offered blade with a frown. He spun it in his hand, giving it a couple of twirls to test the heft and balance; then he slid one thumb along the blade.

"Castiel," he murmured, not a question so much as a statement. Gabriel was surprised to hear the faintest trace of disapproval. Castiel himself didn't seem to notice it, merely continued to stand ramrod straight while Michael finished his inspection. Apparently, the archangel could find no flaw with the blade, because he handed it back with a curt nod.

"Yes, very well," he brusquely decided. "You will train with Zachariah before formally joining our ranks. Report to him immediately."

"Actually, I was hoping perhaps Gabriel could-"

"Excuse me?"

Oh no. Gabriel could hear the danger in Michael's voice, and he tensed. Castiel clearly heard it, too, as he quickly backtracked. "I… Nothing."

"What was that, Castiel?"

"Nothing. I'll just… yes. Zachariah."

But it wasn't good enough for Michael. The archangel stepped forward and this time, Castiel did take a step back.

"Are you questioning me?"

"No! No, I just-"

"Are you contradicting me?" Another step forward; Castiel backed up again.

"Michael, all I-"

"Are you _disobeying_ me?" One more step, and now Castiel's back was to the wall, literally.

"What?! No!" Castiel's eyes widened in horror, and Gabriel could see the young angel's confusion as his aura fizzled with anxiety. Castiel _hadn't_ intended any disrespect and he didn't understand why he was in trouble now. This was going way too far. Gabriel stepped in, hands up as he shook his head.

"Whoa, whoa… Michael, come on, bro," he appealed. "I'd just mentioned training him before you showed up, that's-"

"Stay out of this," Michael snapped. Gabriel's hidden wings flared out in irritation. Really?

He couldn't get another word in, though, before the eldest archangel had grabbed Castiel by the nape of his robe and pushed him down hard. Castiel caught himself, down on one knee with Michael's fist still clenched in his robe. The archangel leaned down towards him, quietly snarling the same words he'd spoken to the assembly.

"You will not contradict me. You will not question me. You will _not_ disobey me."

"Whooooooooooa, easy, tiger!" Damn it, Gabriel hated getting involved in this kind of shit, but Castiel _was_ his favorite fledgling and Michael was going way overboard with this whole "obey me or else" line. Gabriel's expression was a relaxed grin, but the powerful force he used to set a hand on Michael's shoulder and pull him upright – away from Castiel – was anything but easygoing.

Michael, predictably, turned the glare on him instead, but Gabriel brushed him off. "I told Castiel I'd work with him," the archangel idly informed him again. "That's all he was trying to tell you. He wasn't trying to disrespect you, bro. Geez, you wanna lose a soldier before he's even had a chance to fight? Settle down before you hurt someone, will ya?"

Michael turned to glare at Castiel, who quickly jumped up and tried not to look as shaken as he obviously was. "I'm sorry, Michael, it won't happen again," he murmured contritely. Gabriel tried not to glower; Castiel hadn't done anything that required apologizing.

It seemed to mollify the elder archangel, though, as he nodded sharply. "You will report to Zachariah," Michael snapped. "We've been watching you, Castiel, and your attitude is frankly concerning. Hopefully _Zachariah_ will instill some sense of respect in you. Go."

Gabriel didn't miss the pointed implication that he himself wasn't likely to be a positive influence over other angels as far as respecting Michael went – which, he had to admit, was entirely true. Though he was much less clear on why Michael thought Castiel had some sort of bad attitude in the first place - something about him felt _different_ at times, yes, but not concerning. Still, Gabriel didn't comment as a red-faced Castiel quickly nodded and then flew off as fast as he could.

Instead of getting to whatever point Michael had had for showing up in the first place, the older archangel crossed his arms and watched Gabriel coolly for a second, until Gabriel finally asked in exaggerated concern,

"What… something stuck in my teeth?"

Michael's eyes narrowed, and he stormed forward, grabbing a fist of Gabriel's robes, though he didn't try to push him down like he had with Castiel. Instead, he merely leaned in and snarled, "Never contradict me in front of another angel, Gabriel. Someone has to lead them and I can't do that with you trying to undermine me at every turn!"

Gabriel could only blink, genuinely baffled. "Undermine you?" With a quick snap of his fingers, Michael was clutching nothing but air and Gabriel was standing several feet away, shaking his head. "You wanna lead them, then _lead_ them, Michael. You always wanted to be in charge, not me. Just be careful, bro. Hold on too tight, and you're gonna end up losing everything."

Without waiting for an answer, Gabriel turned on his heel and left. This confrontation had only hardened his resolve: he'd stalled long enough, but he was tired of so much tension in Heaven. He had to sort through some of his own crap, which meant it was time to have that talk with Eleanor. Even if he got his butt chewed out, it would be worth it, to have this fixed with her.

* * *

There were voices coming from Eleanor's little office when the archangel approached; Terriel was having another lesson on the art of sigil-crafting. Taking a deep breath, Gabriel pushed the door open, prepared with an armload of flowers and a charming grin on his face.

"Well, hello there, sugar!"

Both Eleanor and Terriel turned around as he stepped into the doorway. Eleanor's expression was not an encouraging sign.

"Terriel, why don't we finish this later?" Eleanor suggested. Terriel looked between her and Gabriel, then flew away so fast that their robes had to settle from the wind. Gabriel ignored him, concentrating on turning his full charm on Ellie.

"So, I've thought it over," Gabriel announced, stepping in and kicking the door closed behind him. "And I've decided I owe you an apology."

Eleanor's arms crossed. She didn't say a word, just coolly eyed Gabriel. The archangel looked up at the arched ceiling and tilted his head slightly. Golden drops of dew began to float down around Eleanor, rose petals swirling around her feet, directed by his power. She remained silent, expression flat as she watched him.

"Nothing?" Gabriel asked, blinking. He looked up again and nodded; songbirds flew in circles around Eleanor, cheeping and trilling. One even lit on her shoulder, but she was like stone. Her eyes narrowed, and Gabriel quickly sent the birds away. Apparently tokens weren't working. "Look, baby-"

He broke off when her lips pursed. "No? Ellie-" No, there went the narrowing eyes again. It was amazing how much she could say without even a single word being uttered. Gabriel nervously cleared his throat and straightened.

"Erm… Eleanor."

"Yes, Gabriel?"

Okay… duly noted, she wasn't in the mood for the pet names and the flirtatious air. Gabriel chewed his lip. Shoot, there went his entire play book. Eleanor could clearly see that he was floundering, but made no attempt to help him out. With a single look, she had the chairs skittering across the floor from the desk to where they stood. Her arms were still crossed as she sat down with regal elegance, watching Gabriel expectantly.

"Um…" Now he was thrown off. Other angels would have succumbed to his charm – but Eleanor had never been like other angels, and couldn't be persuaded by easy tricks. Gabriel sat down in the other chair, watching Eleanor's cool, waiting face. "Uh… so… you're, uh… you're still kinda sore, huh?"

The lips pursed again, and Gabriel quickly backpedaled. "Well, what I mean by that, _obviously_ , is that… man, you're probably still sore with me, cause… cause I really deserve that." To be safe, he added, "And not just 'sore', because… I mean, that would... belittle how hurt you were."

Eleanor's expression relaxed slightly, Gabriel's cue that he was on a safer track. "I know you're mad that I went to find Lucifer."

Whoops, that must have been wrong, because her icy glare could have disintegrated him. Gabriel winced. "Ah… no?"

"No, Gabriel." With a sigh, Eleanor shook her head. "You still don't see. It was never about you trying to find your brother. I always knew you were going to try, and that I wouldn't be able to talk you out of it. That's who you are."

"Uh... okay, then I really don't get what the big deal-" Nope, way off track if her suddenly crackling grace was any indication, and her lips couldn't have gotten any thinner. Gabriel shifted direction midstream. "Uh… what the big… _idea_ was… for me to… uh…" What had she said when he'd gotten back? "…lie to you."

"Nice save."

"Thanks, that was close," Gabriel grinned with relief. "Whew, I was about to be an even bigger jackass! Right?"

Did he detect a slight twitch of her lips? Gabriel smiled hopefully, but Eleanor wasn't letting him off that easy. "I'm supposed to be able to count on you, Gabriel," she pointed out. Her voice was steady, but Gabriel could feel her hurting, and it pained him. "Sometimes I think you're the _only_ one I really trust, and then you pull something like that? A projection, Gabriel? I would have respected you enough to understand that you had to do what you thought you had to do. You didn't respect me enough to let me do _anything._ "

"Aw, come on, El, I respect you."

"You made that decision without me! We could have at least talked about it, Gabriel, you could have let me do something. You can't just shut me out!" Her wings snapped into visibility before his eyes, one swinging around to deliver a sound buffet to his head. "Remember this?! Remember when we bound our souls together?!"

"Ow," Gabriel complained, rubbing his head even though the smack hadn't remotely hurt. "Ellie, you gotta understand I was trying to pro-"

"So help me, Gabriel, if you _dare_ say you were protecting me, I will put you in a sigil that turns you inside out, you hear me?!"

Gabriel blinked, cocking his head slightly in genuine fascination. "Can you actually do that?"

This time her lips definitely twitched, as she growled, "Don't push me."

The archangel smirked slightly, but this fell away as he sighed. "Look, I just didn't want you to worry."

"Oh, job well done, Gabriel. I wasn't worried a _bit._ "

Damn, his sarcasm was clearly starting to rub off on her. Gabriel winced. Despite all his flirting and joking, Eleanor deserved more than the mask he wore. Dropping his defenses entirely, he allowed pure emotion to flow from his heart from his tongue. That was what she wanted, and what he owed her: his rawest, most honest self.

"Honestly, I was protecting myself, too," he softly admitted. Gabriel's eyes rose to meet Eleanor's, one hand coming up to hesitantly reach for the pure white wings still gleaming behind her. She shifted to allow his hand to fall onto it; at least she wasn't so angry that she wouldn't let him touch her, because that might have shattered him completely. He felt her soul, in all its simple goodness, her dazzling self that she had given to _him_ , and Gabriel's breath hitched in deeper emotion.

"How do you mean?" she asked, voice softening as she invited him to speak his own piece.

He couldn't answer for a second, feeling the warmth of her soul that was a part of his own self now, ever since they had first joined wings. Gabriel swallowed. "I knew that if you knew where I was going… you might try to follow me. The thought of you anywhere near that… that _place_ … Ellie, that place is _evil,_ and it's dangerous, and if something happened to you…"

Gabriel's voice shook, his hand tightening slightly in her wings, reassuring himself that those unbelievably soft feathers were still there, still his as he was hers. "What if I couldn't protect you… what if I lost you there, I couldn't-" He took another breath. "I couldn't bear that, El. I wanted to keep you safe, but I was protecting myself, too, because if I failed…"

His great golden wings shifted into Heaven's plane, trembling and reaching for her. Eleanor's gentle hand fell on them instantly, a soothing balm. Gabriel shook his head. "I _am_ sorry for lying to you, and I won't do that again. But Ellie... you're half of me," he whispered, brushing his sleek feathers against her soft ones. "If I lost you… I'd be undone."

Eleanor stood. Her hands tenderly took his own, pulling him up to his feet. The angel's eyes were filled with empathy and understanding as she gazed up at Gabriel, arms and wings both wrapping around him. "Then you do understand why _I_ was so afraid to lose _you_ ," she whispered.

Yes… because they were so vastly different, and yet they were the same; they were one. Gabriel's wings wrapped to cover hers, the joining of their souls felt in both of their hearts. He nodded, throat feeling too thick to speak. He understood, because he'd spoken her own feelings aloud.

All that mattered was that they were both safe, and together. All was forgiven. For now, they were going to stay just like that: wings wrapping each other, their deeply intimate act of unified souls, comforting each other with absolute love.


	9. A Gauntlet Thrown

Nothing further had been heard from Lucifer or the angels who had left Heaven, which offered a bit of a respite. Gabriel was still convinced that something big was coming – even bigger than the rift that was forming between the angels – but he tried not to let that worry him at the moment. He was trying to stay out of it, anyway, spending his time with Ellie or lazily watching the shaping Earth.

"Can I go see the humans?" Terriel asked one day in Eleanor's office. "Raphael says no one is to leave Heaven alone, but maybe if you and Gabriel were there…?"

From his corner where he'd been watching Eleanor teach in loving fascination, Gabriel shook himself back to reality at the sound of his name. "Huh?" he asked, heavily distracted by the way Ellie's aura lit her skin with a subtle golden glow. Eleanor caught his eye and smiled. Gabriel's heart skipped a beat when she smiled like that.

"Shall we go look in on the humans?" she asked on her pupil's behalf. "Terriel hasn't been to Earth yet."

"Oh. Right. Yeah, sure, field trip!" Gabriel exclaimed, always happy to go anywhere with her. "Follow me, kiddo."

The three angels spread their hidden wings, flying through the ethereal plane as Gabriel led the way to Earth, now quite a bit more populated – which wasn't saying much. The humans were still living mainly in family units, the largest villages and tribes holding only a very few different bloodlines. Not many angels had vessels yet, but most wouldn't come for a while.

"Wow," Terriel whispered in fascination as they stopped outside a larger tribe to watch the humans scurrying about their business. They were still on the brink of the ether, out of sight or hearing of the people they watched from another plane.

"Yeah. Odd little critters, aren't they?" Gabriel snickered, shaking his head. Eleanor swatted his arm.

"Gabriel, you should have more respect for them," she admonished. "Terriel, just remember… we can't have physical form here without a vessel. For a human to bear an angel is a tremendous sacrifice. Your first duty is to your vessel, you understand? Respect him or her, and protect them no matter what."

Terriel bobbed his head in understanding, but Gabriel muttered, "Easy for you to say… mine are all short." He already intuitively knew the names of his own vessels. He also happened to know that both Lucifer _and_ Michael got taller ones, and that simply wasn't fair.

"It doesn't matter what they look like," Eleanor reminded him severely. "If they say yes, they're to be respected."

"I don't understand why we need vessels, though," Terriel piped up, tugging Eleanor's robe. "They look like us from here."

Eleanor nodded, settling into "teacher" mode. "That's because we were all made in the same image," she explained, gesturing to some humans walking past without seeing them. "But their bodies require all sorts of internal mechanisms to keep running that we angels don't need. And, they have sex organs, since they need to reproduce with each other, unlike us. But they have no wings, and no grace."

"So they can't _fly_?" gasped Terriel, looking genuinely saddened for the poor humans. Gabriel snickered.

"Well, they can't really do much of _anything…_ ow!" He rubbed his side where Eleanor had elbowed him with a glare.

"Be nice, Gabriel. I like them, they have so much spirit for creatures with so few powers. They're actually quite remarkable. Besides… it's our duty to protectthem, not mock them."

"But why can't we just walk among them, instead of burdening them to be our vessels?" Terriel wondered.

Eleanor fell into an explanation that Gabriel was too busy watching her to follow the thread of the lecture. Something about how if they were to fully enter Earth's plane of existence, their particular energies would be translated into little more than forms of light-waves, rather than the corporeal forms they had now. All things were just forms of energy, as she had explained before when demonstrating her sigils, but the physics of this plane were different, or something to that effect. It was hard for Gabriel to focus, the more animated and filled with life she became.

Terriel seemed to get what she was talking about, but the bottom line that Gabriel understood was that they needed Earthly bodies in order to fully be there and interact… which meant vessels.

"So when their bodies die, their souls are released to Heaven or Hell," Terriel murmured, still watching with fascination. "What happens when angels die?"

"No one actually knows-" Gabriel began to answer for Eleanor, but he was interrupted by a powerful voice echoing through all three of their minds; Michael, calling all of the angels.

 _"All angels, to me, immediately! An intruder has entered Heaven! Soldiers to the Hall, NOW!_ "

 _What_?! Gabriel was stupefied, momentarily frozen as he gaped at Ellie. Intruder?! Was this a joke? But no… Michael didn't even know howto joke. How was it even possible?! His heart gave an almighty lurch, as the feeling of a storm cloud on their horizon returned stronger than ever.

"Stay behind me!" he snapped to Eleanor and Terriel, grabbing both of them and taking off faster than light.

The flight to Heaven took no time at all, so great was his speed. _Nothing could get into Heaven_ , he thought over and over. Nothing but an angel.

...Lucifer?

There was an immense gust of air as Gabriel's hidden wings billowed out to bring them to a swift halt as all three of them reached the Great Hall of Heaven. As the archangel took in the scene, his arms shot out to shove Eleanor and Terriel back behind him.

"What in Dad's name…" he choked out, crouching slightly as Eleanor released a small cry of horror.

It _was_ Lucifer… along with the first six angels who had challenged Gabriel in Hell. They were standing in the very center of the Hall, quite at ease.

They weren't alone.

"What… what is that?" Terriel whispered in fear. Gabriel narrowed his eyes, wondering the same thing. In his entire existence, he'd never seen the likes of this thing. Whatever it was, it was hideous, uglier than even the Leviathan. The thing's body was mutilated, a ghastly, misshapen creature that filled Gabriel with loathing. But its face… its face defied any description.

Evil. Every angel knew, by purest instinct, that this thing was absolutely and utterly evil in the deepest sense of the word. Gabriel refused to believe that Lucifer would have brought this monster into Heaven, but what other conclusion could he possibly come to?

A blade appeared in Gabriel's hands, as he backed up enough to assure himself that Ellie was still safely behind him. His eyes darted around until he located Michael and Raphael, stepping up to Lucifer with a Host of soldiers behind them.

"Hello, brothers," Lucifer greeted them with a smile. His voice had dropped a full ten degrees since last Gabriel had heard him speak. Gabriel shuddered; Michael's face was equally cold.

"You are not welcome here," hissed the eldest archangel. "You will take that _thing_ , and leave."

"This 'thing'?" Lucifer's voice was all innocence, a hand settling on the shoulder of the abhorrent creature he'd brought. "Now, that's not very nice."

Eleanor gasped softly from behind Gabriel, a hand falling on his arm urgently. Gabriel twisted his head slightly in question, but his eyes never left the monster. _"Gabriel…"_ Eleanor whispered directly to his mind. He could feel her terror and revulsion through their linked souls. _"Gabriel, I think- I think that soul was HUMAN."_

Was?

"After all," chuckled Lucifer. "Aren't you supposed to be bowingto these things? I want to see _you_ bow, brother. I want to see you humbleyourself before this 'thing'."

Oh God… Gabriel's wings strained for Eleanor's unseen, feeling her reaching for him as well. She was right. This had once been a human. What it was nowwas anyone's guess.

"Lucifer," Raphael snarled, taking a step forward. "What have you done?"

"Me?" Lucifer asked, innocent again. Then, he laughed, and Eleanor's grip on Gabriel tightened. "Oh, I've... made some improvements." The fallen archangel turned around, looking upwards as he suddenly shouted, "Come on out, Father! Come see what I've made for you!"

"What have you done?!" Raphael bellowed again, raising his archangel blade. The creature suddenly moved for the first time, its twisted and warped body turning a slow circle; when it was facing Gabriel's direction, the archangel swallowed hard and pressed his invisible wings tightly around Eleanor. It was smiling, and its milky white eyes looked rotted and dead. When it laughed - a high, cold, evil sound – Gabriel felt his hair stand on end. Now he knew what that feeling of foreboding had been warning against.

"My brothers… sisters…" Lucifer announced sibilantly, gesturing to the creature. "May I introduce Lilith. She's the first."

"LEAVE THIS PLACE!" Michael was on the move at last, charging straight towards Lucifer with rage in his eyes. Lucifer's smile widened, a predatory grin. His hands flew up, and a force like a tornado flung Michael back from him. More soldiers rushed in, but Gabriel's eyes were on the creature: he didn't want to hurt his brothers, even with what they'd brought into Heaven, but if this thingshowed any signs of attacking, he was going to waste it.

"Trying to kick me out, Michael?!" snorted Lucifer as he strode towards his brother, who was struggling to get to his feet. "Why does it feel like we've been here before?"

"You know you can't win this fight." Michael sneered at Lucifer, dodging the attack that came his way. All angels but the soldiers were starting to anxiously press backwards, the memory of previous battles all too fresh in their memories. The soldiers themselves were trying to apprehend Lucifer's six chosen warriors, hoping to overwhelm them with force of numbers. They weren't getting far; these six had been hand-picked for a reason. In the center of it all, the creature - Lilith - just laughed, and laughed, an insane, macabre sound.

Gabriel had already pushed Eleanor and Terriel back towards an enormous marble pillar, hissing at them to stay down. A shout from the center of the Hall had him whipping back around though, watching in horror as Michael stumbled back with glowing white grace dripping from a deep wound in his shoulder.

"I didn't come to fight," Lucifer taunted, blade flashing out. Michael's scream of pain brought all of Heaven to a terrified halt, and when the dust settled, they could see that the archangel was pinned to a column by Lucifer's blade piercing all the way through his shoulder and into the stone behind him. Lucifer just chuckled, grabbing Michael's other wrist and squeezing in a bone-shattering grip until Michael's sword fell from his hand with an echoing clatter on the floor. "But since we _are_ fighting... tell me again how I can't win?"

Gabriel was a statue, eyes flicking between Michael and Lucifer's faces in disbelief. This was a nightmare, and he had no idea what to do. If Lucifer tried to kill Michael, could Gabriel stop him in time? If Raphael tried to kill Lucifer while he was distracted, could Gabriel get there before the Halls were forever tainted with the blood and ash of an archangel?

"You will all stand down!" Lucifer bellowed, raising his voice as he leaned in, pressing a forearm against Michael's throat. Behind him, the frozen soldiers traded anxious looks, not sure what to do.

"No, they won't!" Michael choked out, but the soldiers didn't dare disobey Lucifer when their commander - and brother - was at stake. One by one, they were all warily lowering their swords but not sheathing them. Michael's face was red with utter fury, his lips curled in a snarl as he weakly grabbed Lucifer's arm with his free hand - put pinned as the shoulder was, his grip wasn't nearly strong enough to shove his brother away.

"You'll pay for this, Lucifer," Michael seethed in outrage. Lucifer chuckled again, somehow all the more terrifying in his calmness.

"Oh, I've paid enough, thank you. Did you imagine I was going to let this stand, brother? Did you imagine I would be weakened when you expelled me from my home?" He leaned in closer, and they could hear Michael choke slightly as the pressure against his throat increased. "You were wrong," Lucifer hissed. "I'm stronger, and I think it's _your_ turn to pay."

The dark smile stretching his cheeks far too wide terrifiedGabriel, as did the words. He took one step forward, feeling Eleanor's ripple of fear for him. He sent her back a soothing reassurance, and swallowed hard. "Lucifer, wait..." he spoke up urgently. "Just wait, okay, bro?"

"Stay out of this, Gabriel, you're not my enemy." His voice was cold, back still to the rest of the angels as he kept Michael pinned. "What do you think, Michael? You threw me outbecause I wouldn't bow to your precious humans. So why don't youbow to mine, and see how you like it?!"

Lucifer moved like lightning. Michael shouted again as the blade pinning him was wrenched free, and then Lucifer was dragging him towards the center of the Hall with the silver edge dangerously pressed into Michael's throat. "Come now, brother!" he snarled, grunting with exertion as he pulled a struggling Michael bit by bit towards the monster. "Let me see that great prideof yours kneeling on the floor like common swine, let me see the humilityyou demanded from me! Bow to her, Michael!"

"You-" Michael gasped, struggling harder as grace bled down his wounded arm. "I will _kill_ you for this!"

"Oh, you don't likethe thought of bowing to a lesser creature? Neither did I! You showed me no mercy, so _KNEEL_!"

Gabriel took another step forward, holding his hands up in placation. "Lucifer, _please_!"

"I said stay out of this!"

The six angels had roughly shoved some of the soldiers aside, clearing a path to reach the mutilated creature in the center. There were dark, victorious smirks directed at Michael as Lucifer managed to drag him closer. The angels of Heaven watched in unmasked terror, many still gripping their angel blades in preparation to strike at the first order. Gabriel knew the order was coming, because he knew his brother: Michael would rather be killed than be forcibly made to show the slightest humility to this thing. Blood would coatthe floors, and Gabriel could notallow that.

"Lucifer!" he tried one more time, urgently pushing his way through the soldiers now. "This isn't the answer, for eitherof you. Please,Luci. Let's just everyone step back-"

"Let's not!" Raphael was a whirlwind, blade flashing before Lucifer had time to shift his attention from Gabriel. The dark archangel shouted in pain, dropping Michael and backing away with his hand clutching his side, dripping in blood and grace. Michael was on his feet again like lightning, teeth bared in his wrath as he leaped at Lucifer with his bare hands.

Gabriel couldn't even see what was happening, but Lucifer must have dodged because the next thing he knew, the entire host of angels was knocked off their feet by an unseen force. Lucifer's bloody hand was extended as he knelt, using his power to hold everyone down. It was hard to say whose face held more hatred - Michael or Lucifer.

"This is just the beginning," Lucifer hissed, voice lethal and vengeful. "You'll see me again... I promise you that." With that final warning, the dark archangel pressed his bleeding hand into the ground. From his prone position, Gabriel could see the blood creeping insidiously into some deliberate shape, a word perhaps, but he couldn't read it from there. Then, there was a blinding flash; Lucifer, the six angels, and the monster were gone.

In the silence that followed, Gabriel could almost heareverything falling apart.

There was no coming back from this. How could this everbe repaired? Creating that _thing_ , Lilith, whatever she was, that had been a smack in the face to God. But beating Michael, trying to make him bow to the thing, that was a smack in the face to the archangel, and Michael did not forgive.

The silence only lasted for a few eternal seconds, and then everything turned to chaos. Angels leaped back to their feet, and a thousand voices rose in panic and confusion all across the Halls. No one was going near the center of the Hall, where Lucifer and the monster had been; Gabriel wanted to know what Lucifer had spelled out in blood, but first there was something far more important that he needed to check on.

"Ellie!" Gabriel's blade disappeared as he flew back to where he'd left her, grabbing Eleanor and pulling her in close. She was white as a sheet, aura sparking with alarm and horror. "Ellie?!"

"It was a human, Gabriel! What did he do to her?!"

"I... I don't know," Gabriel muttered, shaken by the unexpected confrontation they'd just witnessed. He wished he could believe that wounding Michael's pride was all Lucifer would have done, but it was too easy to imagine that the silver blade would have slit Michael's throat as soon as he'd bowed. And, given the chance, he knew that Michael would have turned that blade on Lucifer without a second of hesitation.

Shuddering, Gabriel held Eleanor tight, stroking her hair as the two of them comforted each other with their solid presence. There was something else that was bothering Gabriel as well, and the archangel suddenly murmured, "And what did he mean, she's the _first_..."

"What does 'demon' mean?"

Gabriel had almost forgotten about Terriel. He pulled away from Ellie long enough to shoot him a questioning look. "Eh?"

"Demon." The young angel, pale and unsteady, pointed to the center of the Hall where Lucifer's blood was glistening. Gabriel and Eleanor traded a look, then twisted around to see what he meant. There, on the floor, the blood had fashioned itself into a single Enochian word, one that Gabriel had never heard before. Demon... what _did_ that mean?

"I don't know," Gabriel replied again, shrugging shakily. Whatever it was, it had been important enough to Lucifer to leave the word inscribed in blood,so it was clearly significant in some way. Gabriel felt so helpless, and that was a terrible feeling.

The sudden Voice in his mind took Gabriel by surprise, and he straightened with a sharp gasp. Dimly, he heard Eleanor and Terriel asking what it was, but the Voice drowned out all else as it called to him, summoned him. "Dad," Gabriel whispered, shocked. He'd never been summoned before. "Uh-huh... right away."

The Voice faded, and Gabriel looked around to see that Michael and Raphael had also grimly straightened amid the panicking, shouting angels, and he knew they'd just gotten the same message. Slowly, he turned back to Eleanor, whose face had cleared with understanding. "The archangels?" she verified softly. Gabriel nodded.

"Dad wants to see us," he murmured as his heart sank. Something told him that this did not bode well for Lucifer; the fallen archangel had thrown down the gauntlet, and it was far, far too late to pick it back up.


	10. Angels and Vessels and Demons (Oh My)

"So that was it," Gabriel finished, staring up at the ceiling instead of at Castiel. "Dad gave the order for Michael to make the Cage, reminded us to protect those ridiculous humans no matter what, and the rest was history. You know, that was the last time I ever saw Dad? 'Course, us three and then that little Metatron twerp were the only ones who've ever seen 'im face to face. Usually if we spoke, it was always from a distance, ya know?"

The archangel shrugged. It was the last time he'd ever heard his Father, too. It should have occurred to him _much_ sooner that those were the last orders they'd ever gotten that he knew for a fact were actually from Dad.

"Anyway, enough about the good ol' days," Gabriel decided, jumping up once again and producing another lollipop. He stuck it in his mouth and crossed his arms, regarding the lesser angel currently bound to the chair. "The real question is," he said around the sweet candy, "what are we gonna do with _you_?"

"Mm mm MM," suggested Castiel, glaring over his gag, but Gabriel waved him off.

"Can't let you go, sport," he cheerfully informed his younger brother again. "I can't trust you to keep your mouth shut about me, can I?"

There was no answer this time, just a darker glare, which was all the answer Gabriel needed. "I thought not," he sighed. "So… I could be a really _nice_ brother and leave you here with my girls…"

The women who had been all over Castiel returned from nowhere, smiling at him with vapid giggles and light coos in his ear. Hands began to rub and knead his shoulders again, but Castiel looked anything but pleased with this idea. He uncomfortably tried to shake the girls off, but the strips of linen binding him to the chair didn't allow for a whole lot of movement.

Gabriel snickered and gestured at Castiel with the lollipop. "You know how many guys would kill for that fate?" he teased him. "Ah, you're such a baby."

Say, he had a _marvelous_ idea! Popping the sucker back in his mouth, Gabriel gave his brother a wicked grin and snapped his fingers. "Okay, then… how about you, here forever, with _this_ as your only entertainment?"

The light in the room faded slightly but for a brilliant spotlight that was suddenly pointed directly at Castiel. The lesser angel squinted against it, nervously trying to make out the other shape that was suddenly in the room with him. It was an adolescent human, some singer or other, with a snotty, superior looking expression on his face – caterwauling into a microphone as he pranced and strutted around Castiel.

"Baby baby baby oooooooooooh! Like baby baby baby nooooooooo!"

Gabriel was pretty sure that was supposed to be a song, but it doubled as torture in his book. From Castiel's expression, he agreed.

"MM-M-MMM! Mm mm MMM!"

"Like baby baby baby oooooooh!"

"MM-M-MMM, MM MMMMM _MMM_ MM!"

Even with his mouth taped shut, Castiel's dismay and his threat to Gabriel came across loud and clear, and the archangel burst into laughter. The whole terrible scene evaporated with a snap of his fingers, but Gabriel kept laughing, nearly choking on his lollipop.

"Hah! Haha, oh man… ohhh, sorry, Castiel, I couldn't resist… oh, God…" He chortled again, wiping his eyes. "Aaaah, the look on your face?" Gabriel clicked his tongue. " _Priceless_. Come on, bro, of course I'm not gonna leave you like that, even _Lucifer_ wouldn't be that cruel."

That had been completely worth it. Crunching into the lollipop, Gabriel squinted thoughtfully up at the ceiling. "Hmmm, okay, enough tricks, though. Those two looney tunes are gonna need looking in on soon."

"Mmmm!"

"Yeah, I can't understand you when you mumble. Look, I _would_ let you leave with the Bobbsey Twins, but for the time being, you're staying here until I can figure out how to keep you quiet. Hey, did you know in that in the old days, they'd punish spies by-"

But before Gabriel could tell him all about the horrendous punishments that used to befall spies, he was interrupted by a sharp, tortured cry of pain from Castiel. The archangel paused and stared as his captive nearly tipped the chair over in a sudden violent spasm. It sounded like Castiel was screaming into the gag. His eyes had clenched shut, fingers curling up into a white knuckled grip as he went rigid in the chair, then relaxed, then contorted up again.

"What the hell?" Gabriel asked, blinking in genuine bafflement. "I'm not even _doing_ anything. Castiel? Hey… what's going on?!"

Of course Castiel couldn't actually answer, though. The hair on Gabriel's neck rose as Castiel let out another chilling howl of pain, writhing in the chair. Was Michael somehow doing something to him!? Naomi, perhaps?! Gabriel gaped in disbelief as his teasing expression vanished, then he swore vehemently and flew forward.

"Castiel!" he shouted over his brother's cries. "What is it?!" Gabriel grabbed the lesser angel by the lapels, jerking him upwards. The ties binding him to the chair evaporated into the air, as Gabriel tried to get him standing on his feet. Castiel thrashed like he was being tortured, until Gabriel had to lower him to the floor.

Still crying out in agony into the duct tape, Castiel managed to crawl about two feet, then collapsed in a heap.

Gabriel was stunned. He stared at the heap in horror, not understanding. He hadn't even done anything, none of his tricks should have caused Castiel that much pain. This was _his_ pocket dimension, how had anyone else's power even gotten in, and what had they done to his brother?! Should Gabriel heal him? He didn't even see any injuries, though, and he was so confused - and starting to feel a twinge of fear.

Leaning over Castiel, the archangel hesitantly poked him; without warning, there was a sharp stab of pain across his cheek, and Gabriel lurched backwards in surprise.

"What the-" There was blood beneath his fingertips as Gabriel touched his cheek. Castiel was no longer on the floor, but a few feet away in a ready crouch. The blood on the tip of Castiel's extended angel blade must have been Gabriel's, and the archangel gasped. He'd forgotten how fast Castiel was.

Wait a second…

"Wh- You were _faking_?" he exclaimed, healing the cut on his cheek in a snap. There was no sign that Castiel was in any sort of pain at all, or that he ever _had_ been. It'd been a ruse, luring Gabriel into untying him so he could get away. Gabriel wasn't even angry – he was impressed! In fact, he was shocked!

"Whooooooa-ho-ho, I did _not_ see that one coming! Not bad, Castiel!" Gabriel laughed, eyes lighting up as he regarded the younger angel. "Wow, those Winchesters must've taught you that one, no way you learned that in Heaven! Nice one, kid, there ain't many who can trick a Trickster. I won't be falling for _that_ again!" Shit, his heart was pounding, though. Who would have thought that Castiel could pull off a bluff that good?

Castiel glared at him, trying to peel the tape from his mouth as he held his blade out in warning. Gabriel had sealed the gag on with his power, though, and it was amusing to watch his brother struggle.

"I'm curious, though," he suddenly added, cocking his head in mock thoughtfulness, before spreading his arms and looking around them. "Where exactly do you think you're gonna _go_?" It was a pocket dimension with literally only one room, and no one could get in or out unless Gabriel allowed it. It didn't appear to stop Castiel from trying, though, as he flickered out of sight, clearly attempting to simply fly away.

A second later, he was right back in the room. The lesser angel had appeared facing away from Gabriel now, but his shoulders were tense and his angel blade was still extended. The archangel snickered, and Castiel whipped around in startled dismay to still be there.

"Yeah, uh… I'm the _Trickster_ , remember?" Gabriel pointed out dryly, a cool sneer on his face. "You thought you'd just be able to fly away, little brother?" He took a step forward, and Castiel backed away. The lesser angel's eyes were dark and steady above the duct tape keeping him silent, and Gabriel was impressed with how well Castiel hid his fear.

He kept advancing until Castiel hit the back wall, but the younger angel merely crouched, brandishing his angel blade, ready to fight. Gabriel shoved his hands into his pockets, not even bothering to draw a weapon. Castiel couldn't kill him, with nothing but an angel blade.

"So, I guess you really sorta blew your only chance of escaping," he drawled, strolling casually closer. "But I know, I know, gotta get out there and protect the dynamic duo, and keep encouraging this whole stop-the-Apocalypse campaign. Which, by the way, is probably the stupidest idea you've ever gone along with."

Castiel was glaring at him, between looking anxiously around for another way out. Gabriel just raised his hands innocently. "But why listen to me?" he asked. "Maybe you should see for yourself. You're so desperate to save these pathetic humans, then maybe you need to be reminded that dragging this out is gonna do- well, pretty much the opposite of save them!"

He flew forward, startling Castiel, who tried to bring his angel blade up to fend him off. Gabriel caught his wrist easily and gave him a slight shake. The blade fell, and the lesser angel started struggling in earnest.

"Oh, simmer down, kiddo," Gabriel impatiently grumbled, rolling his eyes. "If I was really gonna kill you – permanently, at least – don't you think I woulda done it by now? I mean, I think we both know I could. Hold still, I just want you to see something."

Castiel was still squirming slightly as the archangel raised two fingers and touched them to Castiel's forehead. The lesser angel instantly slumped, eyes rolling back in his head. Gabriel let him drop to the ground, not really trying all that hard to do so gently.

"Cast your mind back, thousands and thousands of years," Gabriel droned like he was reading from a script. He plunked down in the chair, tipping back again with his feet on the table. "The scene is Earth. The characters are tiny little humans, and these bad boys that turned out to be called demons. The brave and handsome hero is yours truly, of course, but I'm not in this scene."

He smirked, watching Castiel's face as the angels eyes shifted beneath his lids, caught in the illusion. Hey, the kid had scorned his hospitality, so he could watch reruns of human suffering for a while instead.

"The demons are terrorizing the Earth," he narrated. "Angels are trying to protect the humans like good boys and girls, but most of them are too busy fighting Luci's guys. But the more humans die, the more souls head down the highway to Hell, and the more demons who get made to kill more humans. Aaaand around and around we go."

That was war, and war came at a price, and the price was blood.

* * *

The angels were having a hard time keeping this new demon problem in line. Sure, the demons were absolutely no match in a fight, but the angels just couldn't be everywhere at once – and besides, there were still only a few bloodlines who could bear an angel, so vessels were sparse.

Those who could watch over the Earth did so; the remaining warriors were occupied with Lucifer and his increasing following, trying to get close enough to cast Lucifer into the Cage that another garrison was preparing.

Gabriel had outright refused to fight against his own brothers and sisters, telling Michael quite sharply that _he_ hadn't started this mess and _he_ wasn't going to have angel blood on his hands… but that he would do what he could for the humans in the meantime, since that was what God had ordered in the first place.

Michael wasn't pleased, but hadn't argued too hard, seeing as Gabriel did have a vessel now. Of course, he spun it to look like he'd been the one to order Gabriel to focus on protecting Heaven and Earth, away from battle, but whatever.

Which was why Gabriel was on Earth at that very moment, wearing a short, dark-haired cattle-herder. With one hand, he was holding a furious, squirming demon a good two feet off the ground, but he was more or less ignoring the demon entirely.

"Lemme go!" the black-eyed demon indignantly shouted, using the human it'd taken over to try kicking Gabriel (utterly unsuccessfully). "Get offa me!"

"Ellie, how we lookin', sugar?"

"Just one moment, Gabriel," Eleanor called back. She tilted her head away, resuming her conversation with the vessel's soul within the body she now occupied. "Are you alright in there, little one? It does? No, child, it won't last forever, I'm going to be as quick as possible. Shhh… just close your eyes, I'm going to help you sleep, alright? When you awake, I'll be gone. You're a brave girl, Zarah."

Gabriel didn't rush her, merely stood at ease with the demon held aloft, watching Eleanor with soft, tender eyes. One of her vessels had matured enough to give consent to enter, a lovely young girl, but Eleanor was deeply concerned over the comfort of the vessel. Gabriel loved her for it. He'd never seen any of the other angels bother to ask how their vessels were doing, once they were inside.

"Oh, Gabriel, this truly is hard on them," Eleanor sighed, coming a bit closer now. "But have you felt their souls? It's incredible, they're a thousand times stronger than our own! They're so bright!"

With a grin and a nod, Gabriel nevertheless gestured with the squawking demon he held as a reminder of why they were there. "Well, let's hurry so these little apes- er… magnificent humans," he quickly amended when Eleanor glared at him, "can have their bodies back."

"You're _certain_ you aren't too powerful for yours?" Eleanor worried yet again, neither of them paying the least bit of attention to the demon starting to yell at the top of his lungs. "If it's hard for Zarah to bear _me_ , I hate to think what an archangel's power could potentially do to a vessel."

"I put him to sleep like you asked me to, and I'll heal him when I leave," he assured her, before gesturing with the demon again. It started cursing, and Gabriel impatiently flicked his fingers at it; the demon's voice disappeared. "So, what, you just need to study its energy or something?"

Eleanor nodded, taking the parchment and charcoal from Zarah's pouch, then she squinted at the demon critically. "Even while possessing a human body, it still has a unique energy form," she explained as she started scribbling notes. "If I can map it out, I should be able to come up with some sigils to trap them or ward them off."

She paused, looking up at the demon with a wince and then asked sadly, "Is the human inside of it still alive? Can you sense it, Gabriel?"

"No worries," Gabriel assured her with a grin. "The human's safe and sound, freaking out like a champ, but our demon pal knows what happens if it tries anything funny, right?"

The demon glared, trying to make a smart remark back without a voice, but Gabriel just chuckled darkly, hoisting the demon a bit higher, a bit closer to him, so that their faces were inches apart. There was still a huge grin on the archangel's face, but a dangerous spark in his eyes as he casually asked again, " _Right_?"

Clearly, the demon could see the danger it was in; its furious expression melted away, wide-eyed and frightened as it felt the power rolling off of Gabriel. The archangel chuckled and nodded cockily. "Yeah, that's what I thought. How much longer, El?"

"Not too long," she answered absently, eyes flicking between the demon and her notes. "It's actually quite fascinating. Its energy is so unique, I should be able to fashion a trap that will hold _only_ a demon. The best bet is a circle, you know that's meant to contain energies, and then I think on the inside-"

She was going on to explain her entire thought process for the design of a sigil to trap demons, but Gabriel just smiled. Even in a human vessel, he could see Eleanor's light and passion when she spoke, though she was speaking well over his head, and mostly to herself anyway. He could never get tired of looking at her; true, her physical appearance was greatly altered like this, and yet he could still see _her,_ clear as day. No matter what form she took, Eleanor was unequivocally and immeasurably beautiful.

"-Gabriel? What are you smiling at?"

"What?" Gabriel blinked, coming out of his daydream. Eleanor was watching him in amusement, and he quickly recovered. "Oh, nothing, I just love it when you talk dirty," he quipped, earning a dry look.

"You didn't hear a word I just said."

"Yup, demons, energy, circles, got it." Gabriel grinned innocently, and she couldn't help but laugh before returning her gaze to her work.

"I think I've got what I need," she told him, studying the parchment with a frown. "I'll start working on this right away."

Gabriel nodded, then paused, turning serious for just a moment. "Why don't you go on back then, sugar?" he suggested calmly. "I'll be there in just a minute."

Eleanor, as always, was extremely quick on the draw. Her eyes flicked between Gabriel and the squirming demon he held, then she nodded. Even in a vessel, her mannerisms and looks were exactly the same, and her solemn gaze met Gabriel's now: _do what you have to do._

 _I will,_ his returning look assured her. _Go on, now… You don't need to see this._

"I'll take Zarah back to her home," Eleanor simply replied, her soft gaze lingering on Gabriel for a moment before she disappeared with the sound of rustling wings in her wake. As soon as she was gone, the archangel turned to the demon he held, and he clicked his tongue reprovingly.

"Whooo... Son, it's just not your day."

Honestly, the demon never stood a chance, but Gabriel made it a quick end. Not out of any sense of mercy, but because he was impatient to return all the humans to their respective locations and get back to Heaven. Gabriel didn't dislike Earth, but it was strange and foreign, and there was nothing like being home.

Once he'd ripped the demon soul out of the human and smote it to smithereens like he was ripping through paper, Gabriel dutifully placed two healing fingers on the poor sucker it'd been riding around in.

"Hey, champ!" he greeted the terrified man cheerfully as soon as he woke. "How's tricks?"

The greeting didn't go over well… to say the very least.

However, the archangel did finally manage to get the now passed out man home safely. The human was probably scarred for life now, but there wasn't realistically anything Gabriel could do about that. Instead, he dropped the man off, quickly healed his own vessel from the strain on his mind and body, and then finally turned towards Heaven in relief.

He wouldn't have been at all surprised if Eleanor had already finished a pile of sigils to help humans fight the demons, Gabriel thought lovingly as he soared back home, grateful to be back at last. He was still grinning as he approached Eleanor's office – and promptly drew to a halt.

The grin fell away, and Gabriel frowned. He heard a raised voice – Eleanor's raised voice. But Eleanor almost _never_ raised her voice.

The archangel's eyes narrowed dangerously, as he listened.

"No! The answer, again, is no, and that means _no_! You will _respect_ that answer, and back off!"

"But if you would just consider-"

"I have done all the considering I need to do, and my answer remains the same: _no_! And I have neither the desire nor the obligation to justify myself to you, Zachariah!"

Well, that was all Gabriel needed to hear. The office door blew open with a crack like a whip, with all the force of a hurricane, and the archangel stormed inside.


	11. The Sigil Crafter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! I've been on vacation and didn't have the documents loaded on my phone. But here we go! ^_^

"Hello there, ladies and gents," Gabriel exclaimed as he strode through the door of Eleanor's study. His face was a mirror of when he had held the demon - a smile on his face, hiding the true danger in his eyes. "What's all the hullabaloo?"

His gaze was locked on Zachariah as he asked this, and Zachariah instantly froze. It was perfectly clear in his uncomfortable bearing that he hadn't been counting on an interruption from the archangel, and that he wasn't foolish enough to be deceived by Gabriel's lightness of manner.

 _"Ellie?"_ Gabriel murmured silently to her mind, their joined soul linking them together to the exclusion of any other angel.

"Zachariah was just leaving," she replied out loud, a frosty note in her voice. Zachariah's eyes narrowed.

"I'm just following my orders-"

"Which were… what, exactly?" Gabriel cheerfully asked him, but the cheerfulness was at odds with the threatening step the archangel took towards Zachariah.

The lesser angel was no fool; he took an immediate step back (not that this would have actually saved him). "Eleanor has a special skill set," he insisted, gesturing to the sigil crafter. "The higher command believes – and I agree – we haven't even _begun_ to explore what could be done with sigils. She's the only one who really understands them, and how to create them."

"Uh… we're calling them 'higher command' now?" Gabriel blinked, but Eleanor was practically seething.

"By 'what could be done with sigils', you mean ways you could harm or kill other angels! You don't want sigils, Zachariah, you want weapons, and as I told you before-"

"Before?" Why did Gabriel get the feeling he'd missed something? When had Zachariah asked her this before?

"-I cannot create weapons against angels! These sigils are not designed for that-"

"But they could be?" Zachariah interrupted questioningly. Gabriel felt a surge of fury from Eleanor, and he quickly stepped in.

"Ya know, I'm pretty sure the lady already answered that," he pointed out. "She said no. Which, last time I checked, means… _NO._ " This time when he stepped towards Zachariah, there was a bright flash, and the walls and ceiling were obscured by a sudden shadow – the shadow of Gabriel's massive wings, reminding Zachariah in no uncertain terms who was the stronger angel here.

Zachariah got the point. "I'm just following orders," he grumbled again, stepping backwards in the direction of the door. Gabriel let him, though his smile had faded to a glare that the lesser angel wasn't about to argue with.

"Yeah?" Gabriel's voice was decidedly frosty now, the flippant manner fading into a firm finality. "Well, how about another order? _GET OUT_."

Zachariah disappeared in a flurry of wings, and Eleanor exhaled sharply in irritation. Gabriel immediately turned to her in concern and demanded, "Ellie? You alright, sugar? How long has he been bothering you? Why didn't you tell me about this?"

With an irate shake of her head, Eleanor stormed over to her desk and heavily plunked her notes down on top of it. She glared at the chair as though it had wronged her, until it hurriedly zoomed over for her to sit on.

"Zachariah," she muttered darkly under her breath. "You know that I don't like to speak ill of other angels…"

"…but?"

"But there's something _wrong_ with that one, Gabriel. To tell you the truth, he gives me the creeps. I don't like him, I don't like him _one_ bit. And I know it's really Michael and Raphael who want these sigils, but they're too busy commanding these days to ask me themselves, so it's coming down the chain of command, but I thought I made it clear that these sigils are not designed to harm our own brothers and sisters!"

Knowing Eleanor as he did, Gabriel gave her space while she ranted, and though he was trembling with fury inside that Zachariah had been harassing her over this, he tried to make her laugh and lighten her heart. "Huh, you were ready enough to put _me_ in a sigil that would… what did you say? Turn me inside out?"

As he spoke, Gabriel sent a wave of light-heartedness across their connection, and Eleanor's mouth twitched. She looked up at him wryly and murmured, "Don't think I still won't."

Gabriel laughed, only now flying across the office to stand behind the angel, rubbing her shoulders with the gentle firmness that she liked. Eleanor sighed, shaking her head as she leaned back into his hands gladly.

"I don't think they're going to let this go," she admitted. "Especially once they see what the right sigil can do to demons. But I can't stop now… the humans _need_ these sigils to protect themselves. We can't always be there to defend them, Gabriel. Humans are going to have to fight for themselves, but they need these to stand a chance."

Gabriel nodded. As utterly useless as demons were against angels, the humans were equally useless against the demons. Eleanor's work was important, but if Zachariah came around again – or if Michael or Raphael tried to push the issue – then Gabriel was going to have some things to say.

* * *

Time passed; the longer that Lucifer wasn't in his Cage, the more tense and ruthless Michael became until angels became afraid to approach him. Gabriel himself found it particularly annoying, as it also made angels more wary of approaching _him_ as well, by mere virtue of being another of The Archangels.

Eleanor had finished her sigils. One was what Gabriel had coined as a "Devil's Trap", which would hold a demon prisoner inside the ring, powerless; the other was a symbol that would protect a human from having a demon possess them, if placed on their body. It was unfortunate, Gabriel mused, that demons, unlike angels, didn't need permission to take control of a human. This would be a much easier job if the humans could just say no, but Lucifer had designed these demons with eerily painstaking craftiness. The sigils would help, though, he had Eleanor's assurance.

As the self-appointed messenger to Earth (a position which kept him free from having to take sides between Michael and Lucifer), Gabriel took both of these sigils to a few select humans.

"Would you all relax, I'm one of the good guys!" Gabriel protested impatiently to the suspicious group he'd flown in on. "Yeesh, I've come with… glad tidings, or… some kinda crap like that. Whatever, I'm here to help. You… yeah, you, the dude with the righteous beard, who's it look like I'm pointing at? What's your name, kid?"

The man he'd singled out examined Gabriel distrustfully (or he just didn't like being addressed as "kid" by someone who looked like a cattle herder). "Enoch," he finally replied, brandishing a staff. "What is your business here?"

"What did I just say?" groused Gabriel, a bit petulant. "Learn how to listen, Enoch, geez. I'm one of the good guys, here to help. You've been having problems with demons, right? You know, scary lookin' suckers, black eyes?" He gestured to his own eyes, raising his eyebrows as the small group of men traded looks. "I guess the word 'dickheads' doesn't mean anything to you guys."

Enoch turned back to him warily, studying him once again. "You speak of the evil spirits that inhabit our people."

Gabriel touched his nose, then pointed at Enoch. "Okay, so now we're getting somewhere, you do know what a demon is. Right, I'm a Heavenly messenger-"

"You?" Enoch incredulously demanded, and the group of men burst into laughter. "You are a cattle herder!"

"Getting real tired of your attitude, Enoch," Gabriel muttered under his breath, losing patience. His expression turned dark – and then so did the rest of the world around them. "I _said_ ," Gabriel snapped, drawing himself up as lightning began to flash. "I'm a Heavenly frickin' messenger!"

That did the trick. The group of men cowered together, petrified, wide eyes locked onto Gabriel with new respect and fear. The archangel seemed to keep growing, until their heads were forced to tilt back in order to see him.

"And when someone tells you they're a Heavenly messenger," Gabriel boomed, voice echoing across the arid desert, "then you shut your cake-holes and listen."

They didn't respond, just stood there and quivered, staring up at him in mute terror. Gabriel grinned, nodding in satisfaction as he snapped his fingers. Instantly, the storm disappeared, the sinking sun shone red-orange upon the sand once again, and he was back to a normal size. The men blinked, but couldn't find anything to say.

"Much better." Gabriel drew the parchment that Ellie had entrusted to him, motioning the men forward. When they didn't move, he sighed and looked heavenward before stepping up to them instead. "Okay, look. You lucky sons o' bitches are gonna be the first ever demon hunters! This scroll here will explain everything. Need any help, just pray. Any questions?"

He looked around, but there were nothing but wide-eyed stares coming back at him, as the men gaped in shock. "Great! Have fun, boys."

And then, just to add in a bit of theatrical flair worthy of an angel as awesome as himself, Gabriel tipped his head back to look at the sky with a solemn face. His hand rose, and light streamed forth; a break in the remaining clouds opened, and the archangel began to rise, biting back a grin at the gasps and murmurs that followed him. Not until he'd risen above the line of clouds did he snap his fingers; both he and the clouds disappeared with another immense bang and a slight rumbling of the Earth, just to give 'em something to think about.

Man, he loved being an angel.

There were a few more places he wanted to leave knowledge of Eleanor's sigils, so Gabriel quickly flew to another village, and then another. The reception he got was more or less the same, but by the time he was done, there were five copies of the Heavenly scrolls scattered among the people of the Earth. Mission accomplished, he was set to make the return journey to Heaven… but something stopped him.

Gabriel frowned, falling silent to listen.

"No, I'm sorry! It won't happen again-" But the voice cut off with a cry of pain. Gabriel felt his hair stand on end; it was most certainly an angel, because the voice was coming from within the ethereal plane, he could tell.

Leaving his vessel, remembering to heal him quickly, Gabriel hurried to shift into the plane next to Earth's, looking around with a pit in his gut.

"No, it _won't_ happen again," another voice snarled, and Gabriel heard a heavy thud followed by another pained cry. "You're lucky he doesn't send you to back to Heaven for punishment! There's a heavy price for blasphemy, Balthazar!"

Balthazar? One of his other favorite fledglings, the one who'd grown up with Castiel. He'd joined the ranks not long after Castiel, following, as always, in his brother's footsteps. Gabriel's jaw clenched. Cloaking himself in invisibility, he flew forward, following the pull of angelic grace from his brethren. He came upon them quite suddenly, drawing up short as he took in the scene in horror.

It was Virgil, Theo, and Bartholomew, none of whom Gabriel was extraordinarily fond of. Balthazar's arms were pulled back behind him, caught in Virgil's unrelenting grip while Theo pulled back a fist and then slammed it mercilessly into Balthazar's face. The angel groaned in pain, breathing heavily, held up only by Virgil. Bartholomew stood with his arms crossed; he clearly wasn't getting his own hands dirty.

"Now, Balthazar, do you have any other doubts you wish to express about where your orders come from?" he demanded icily. "Any more comments or questions about where our Father might be?"

"No," gasped Balthazar painfully, spitting out a mouthful of blood. "I… I misspoke. I'm sorry."

"Penitence. Good," Bartholomew snapped. "Theo, let's make sure the lesson sticks."

"Wait!" Balthazar cried out, eyes widening, but the massive angel delivered another punishing blow, this time to the hapless soldier's stomach. Balthazar would have doubled over, but he was still held by Virgil. It was clear that this was going to last a while, but Gabriel had seen enough.

Theo's fist was already poised for another strike when Gabriel's archangel blade snaked around to touch his throat menacingly, and Theo froze in shock.

"You touch him one more time," Gabriel snarled coldly, "and you're gonna lose that hand. That what you want?"

"Gabriel!" Bartholomew gasped, snapping to attention. "I wasn't expecting you."

The archangel didn't look at him, but at Balthazar, who was wheezing and hunched over. Balthazar's pained eyes rose slowly, meeting Gabriel's gaze gratefully but with a touch of uncertainty. He seemed to be okay, so Gabriel looked instead to Virgil.

"And you," he seethed, not a trace of a joke or smile in his demeanor. Not when his brother was being ruthlessly bullied. "You've got two seconds to get your hands off of him. One…"

He never reached two; Virgil let go of Balthazar's arms and the freed angel quickly stepped away, but didn't fly off. He seemed unsure if he was actually allowed to go or not, but at least now he had a moment to heal himself. Gabriel turned at last to Bartholomew; his blade slid away from Theo but remained unsheathed in his hand.

"Now," Gabriel went on grimly. "What exactly is going on here? Since when did we start beating our soldiers?"

Bartholomew looked taken aback, trading confused looks with Theo and Virgil. "We… but… you don't understand, Balthazar _questioned_. This is a light sentence, being his first offense."

"So you're telling me this happens a lot?" What the hell was happening here?!

"Well… only at first. _Most_ of them got the message." Bartholomew cast a dark eye at Balthazar, who was glaring at the ground. Gabriel looked back and forth between them, feeling ill at ease. What else went on in the garrisons that he wasn't aware of?

"Does Michael know about this?"

This time, Bartholomew just stared at him, nonplussed. It was clear that he had no idea how to answer, and it probably wasn't easy to think with Gabriel's eyes starting to narrow menacingly as they were. Finally, the angel managed to stammer, "It… It's Michael's orders. No one questions the higher command."

"Yeah, see, there's that phrase again," Gabriel mused, shaking his head. He turned to Theo, and asked, "Why are we calling them that?"

Faced with an irate archangel asking him questions, Theo panicked, and babbled, "I… because… I mean, they're, they're higher… and… and they command…"

Gabriel stared at him. "Boy, nothing gets passed you, does it?"

This was deeply disturbing. So not only did Michael know how some soldiers were being treated, he'd actually sanctioned this? And if a beating was a light sentence, what the hell happened when they were "sent back to Heaven", as Bartholomew had threatened Balthazar with? Warriors had never been treated like this when Gabriel had been in the army, fighting the Leviathan and other monsters.

He was going to have to do some digging, clearly.

"Listen," Bartholomew said nervously, eyes flicking to the other two for support. "We're just following orders."

"Ya know..." retorted Gabriel. "I'm _really_ starting to get tired of hearing that." Hell, if this was what their orders were, it was no wonder Balthazar had started expressing doubts, and asking questions! Gabriel was glad that someone was, because this was some messed up crap. Though, as he glanced at Balthazar now, it didn't look like the angel was going to be asking any questions anytime soon. He was clearly shaken, and little wonder. How was he supposed to trust his comrades if they did things like this?

And how was a garrison supposed to function if none of them trusted each other? Just blindly fall in line, and never think for themselves? What kind of way was that to lead an army?

Yeah, he was _definitely_ going to have to pay closer attention now.

Giving the three angels one final glare, Gabriel snapped, "I don't know what orders you've been getting, but you're all on the same side, so act like it! I'd say Balthazar has gotten whatever message you're trying to send him-" Here, he raised his voice pointedly, looking at Balthazar, who quickly nodded, "-so you can leave him the hell alone. Don't make me come down here again."

The three frantically nodded, as Gabriel gave them one last glare and then flew on his way, heading back to Heaven with the determined decision to start paying more attention to how things were being run.

Michael was determined to defeat Lucifer, that much Gabriel knew.

What he didn't know, however, was how far Michael was willing to go in order to accomplish this.

Just how far did the "upper management" intend to push the line?

With a chill, Gabriel suddenly realized that he really didn't want to know.


	12. Oblivious

Word had apparently spread quickly back to Heaven about Gabriel having cut Balthazar's punishment short; he'd only been back for a short time when he heard his name being called. Gabriel turned around, then frowned as he saw Raphael standing at the head of the Hall with Zachariah, gesturing for him to join them. This was new, Gabriel thought with surprise; Raphael hadn't included him in something in a long time.

As Gabriel approached, Raphael muttered something to Zachariah, who nodded and disappeared; just as well, he didn't have any particular desire to be around the lesser angel at the moment. As he reached Raphael, though, his older brother cut him off before he could speak.

"I'm glad you're here," Raphael greeted him, taking Gabriel by surprise. Really? When was the last time Raphael had been glad about anything, let alone Gabriel's presence? But then he finished, "We need to talk," and the youngest archangel had to fight not to roll his eyes. Silly him, what had he been thinking? Raphael wasn't glad to see him at all.

Gabriel simply replied, "Yeah? What's up, bro?"

"I'll make this simple, Gabriel," Raphael informed him haughtily. "Stop interfering. You had no right to prevent those officers from carrying out their duty on the soldier."

"The soldier… you mean Balthazar?" Gabriel asked, more contention in his voice than was probably necessary. This whole "mightier than thou" attitude that all three of his brothers had acquired was getting old. "Wow, word travels fast."

"They reported it up the chain of command, as they should have. You made it clear to Michael and myself that you wish to have nothing to do with the fighting, weren't those your words?"

"Yeah, they were-"

"Then the army is none of your affair. I don't understand you, Gabriel. You feign such concern for these… these rank and file angels, and yet if you truly cared so much, you would be helping us overcome Lucifer."

"Oh, well, so sorry to think that these 'rank and file' nobodies – who, as it happens, are also our _brothers and sisters_ – should have been left out of this to begin with," Gabriel drawled sarcastically. He couldn't even be shocked by Raphael's supercilious attitude – he'd always thought he was above the others.

"If you're going to be childish, then we're done here."

How Gabriel would love to knock that imperious note out of Raphael's voice… one more archangel who really needed to be taken down a peg or two! Gabriel just rolled his eyes, though, knowing that his best bet was to drop it. Raphael wasn't going to listen to him anyway, and Gabriel _didn't_ want to get involved.

"Whatever, bro," Gabriel grumbled spinning on his heel. "'Cause _I'm_ the childish one. Riiiiiight."

"And one more thing, Gabriel," Raphael called after him. "We know Eleanor is influenced by you. Even if you won't stand up for Heaven yourself, the least you could do is persuade her to make a few simple sigils to help end this war."

Gabriel _had_ had every intention of just walking away and accepting this as something he really couldn't do anything about. But if that was the end result that Raphael had been hoping for, he should never have mentioned Eleanor.

Whipping back around, Gabriel snapped, "Ellie's not one of your soldiers that you can order around! And while we're on the subject, Raphael," he suddenly added with a dangerous narrowing of his eyes. "If I catch Zachariah harassing her about this? I'm gonna be handing out some punishment of my own, that clear?"

"'Ellie' is the only one who knows how the sigils work," Raphael shot back. The sound of Eleanor's nickname from him only angered Gabriel further.

"She's not under your "higher command"," he pointed out furiously, "and she's free to say no! She's got nothing to do with this war, so you will leave her out of it!"

Raphael frowned. Gabriel could feel his brother's ire rising, but he frankly didn't give a demon's ass.

"We need those sigils, Gabriel," the elder archangel growled. "We _will_ have them."

Gabriel had never felt so furious in his life. Rage boiled in his chest, as he flew forward suddenly, directly in Raphael's face. "You listen to me, you arrogant dick," Gabriel quietly hissed. His voice didn't rise, but remained low and cool – a sure sign that he had already bypassed 'angry' and flown straight to 'livid'.

Even Raphael seemed surprised by Gabriel's wrathful objection.

"You wanna push the soldiers around, whatever, be an asshole," Gabriel continued, voice still low and lethal. "But not Ellie. I don't wanna fight you… but you lay a hand on Eleanor, just once… and I can promise you that you'll regret it."

Raphael didn't reply. Probably it was just as well. He regarded Gabriel silently, and if he was wise, he was taking the warning seriously, because Gabriel would back that threat up no matter how much he hated the thought of fighting his brother, even now.

Shooting Raphael one last rage-laden look, Gabriel spun around and flew away.

* * *

It was a long time after that before Gabriel really thought about the soldiers in the ranks again. Much of his time was occupied with keeping an eye on the Earth, though he hated to leave Eleanor in Heaven. Gabriel could always tell upon arriving back home whether or not the "upper management" had asked her again to create weapons – he always felt when something was bothering her.

"No, Gabriel, please don't," she sighed when he threatened to go teach Zachariah a thing or two. "It's really not worth it. This has caused enough trouble as it is."

Eleanor sighed again, looking over at Terriel. The young angel was scribbling notes onto a piece of parchment, eyebrows buckled and tongue between his teeth as he concentrated. "So far, he's been young enough not to warrant attention, but he's almost full-grown. Terriel will come of age soon, and I don't want them to know how much he knows about these sigils. I hate telling him to sneak around, but…"

But it was the only way to keep him from getting caught up in all of this, too. Gabriel nodded, wishing there was something he could do, but he was starting to feel utterly powerless.

To make matters worse, it seemed that Castiel had done something to "warrant attention", and Gabriel came to a screeching halt in the middle of the Hall not long after, as he saw his favorite fledgling being dragged in by three other grim faced angels.

What the hell?

Gabriel's eyes took in the scene, glaring as he saw that although Castiel wasn't resisting, the three were being unnecessarily rough in the way they jerked him along. The expression on Castiel's face was grim, but resigned, and Gabriel instantly followed along, trailing far enough back to go unnoticed.

None of them were saying anything, but the only reason Castiel would be treated like that was if he was here to be "punished"… whatever that meant. Just what _did_ happen to angels who were sent back to Heaven? Gabriel had tried to put it from his mind, but this was Castiel. He shadowed the group to a rarely frequented part of Heaven, stopping as he saw one of the guards push open a door and shove Castiel inside.

This was odd. Gabriel stood at ease against the wall, nonchalantly whistling as the guards passed by again, but his mind was racing. He'd expected them to descend to the dungeon, or maybe straight to Michael's seat in the marble chamber. That door they'd tossed him into instead led to Naomi's office. What on Earth was Castiel being sent to _her_ for?

Curiosity and concern for his younger brother forced Gabriel's feet forward, and he stealthily pressed the heavy door open, listening with all his might. There was a short corridor just inside the door that took a sharp angle towards the main room, providing a bit of cover so he could observe unseen. He could hear another angel inside; Gabriel thought the angel's name was Ion, and if it wasn't then that was what the archangel was going to call him anyway.

"I- I'm sorry, Castiel," he heard Ion murmur softly, "Forgive me, but I must have your blade. Slowly, please."

Gabriel listened, head bowed slightly as he frowned. There was a pause from the room within, then he heard a rustle of movement. When he peeked around the corner, Castiel was slowly setting his weapon in Ion's waiting palm. There was a sad, apologetic look on Ion's face, a stoic one on Castiel's. Now relieved of his blade, Castiel took a breath and gruffly muttered,

"Please be careful with that. I-" He broke off here, face still devoid of the emotion that his hesitation and voice betrayed. Ion swallowed, then nodded reassuringly. Even from the distance, Gabriel could see genuine sympathy in his eyes.

"Yes, of course," he assured Castiel. "I will take care of it, Castiel, I swear to you. You will get it back when you leave."

Well, that was something, Gabriel decided. They clearly expected Castiel to return to duty when he left, so they must not be doing anything that was going to cause lasting damage. After all, Michael needed functioning soldiers and Castiel was a damn good one.

But, Gabriel still remembered what Bartholomew had said about thrashing Balthazar being a light sentence. If this was worse than that, then the whole thing just smelled off. Straightening up, Gabriel pushed his way into the room, taking both the angels inside by surprise.

"Afternoon, gents," he greeted them casually, coming to a halt and crossing his arms. "Just passin' through, don't mind me."

Ion hurried forward to meet him, looking anxious, but Castiel looked away. Gabriel's eyes bored into his favorite fledgling, as he continued before Ion could speak, "But as long as I'm here, what's this all about?"

"Gabriel," Ion murmured respectfully, though nervously. "I am… guarding Castiel. Naomi will see him in a moment. He… he's here to be…" Ion swallowed again, looking away. From his hesitancy, Gabriel was certain that Ion was unhappy about the situation, but that didn't make the archangel feel any more inclined to take it easy on him.

"Yeah? He's here to be…..?"

Castiel was still looking away, as Ion whispered finally, "…Punished."

"Right, okay." Gabriel jerked a thumb over his shoulder and ordered Ion, "You. Out."

"But-"

" _Out_ , I just want a word with Castiel."

Ion looked on the verge of tears now, and his aura sparked and flashed with evident panic. His desperate eyes looked back and forth between Gabriel and a silent Castiel, before he pleaded, "Gabriel, _please_ , Castiel is my responsibility. It's my duty to guard him until Naomi is ready for him. Please, I'm just following orders, if he… if he isn't here when Naomi comes, on my watch-"

"I swear," Gabriel cut him off, looking up at the ceiling with barely controlled temper. "If I hear one more angel tell me they're just following orders-"

"Ion, I will not run," Castiel cut him off, voice gravelly and firm. "I understand your situation, brother, and your fear. You will not be punished because of me, you have my word."

The other angel hesitated, and Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Where the hell is he gonna go, anyway?" he demanded. "This isn't a jailbreak, it's a conversation – a _private_ conversation! Go on, kiddo, scram!"

With an unhappy nod of his head and one more apologetic look at Castiel, Ion quickly departed, leaving Castiel and Gabriel alone. The archangel instantly turned to Castiel, but his brother was staring at the floor.

Gabriel waited for a moment, then asked, "So… you gonna say something, bro?"

"Balthazar told me what you did for him, protecting him from the lieutenants," Castiel suddenly murmured, his eyes rising to meet Gabriel's. The young angel was solemn and sincere as he finished, "Thank you."

Yeah, that wasn't really what he was here to talk about. Gabriel brushed him off airily, though his gut contracted painfully. "Ah, it was nothing."

"No… no, it wasn't nothing. None of us in the lower ranks can do anything about it, or we're punished, too. You're the only one who's stood up for us."

When had Castiel, the energetic fledgling, become so somber and quiet? Was it fear of whatever Naomi would do, or was this just what life in the garrison had turned him into? Gabriel eyed Castiel for a moment, not saying anything, before he finally shrugged again. "Warriors didn't get treated like that, in my day," he muttered by way of explanation.

"Nevertheless, you have my gratitude."

The thanks made Gabriel feel uncomfortable, so he nodded slightly then quickly moved on. "So… what the hell did you do to end up here, kiddo? What, you tell Michael his robes make him look fat?"

The Castiel he'd known would have laughed; this Castiel instead quickly looked around in concern that someone might have heard the remark. Gabriel frowned. Was this what it had come to? Michael had finally succeeded in scaring everyone into these robots? They couldn't even make jokes now?!

Gabriel's chest hurt so badly that he suddenly had to take a breath, as heartbroken as he'd felt the day Lucifer had chased him out of Hell. What was Michael becoming?

And what was he turning the angels into?

"Bro, seriously," he pressed on. "You wanna tell me what happened?"

Castiel's shoulders tightened and he slowly admitted, "I disobeyed."

"'Kay?"

Castiel's eyes rose to meet Gabriel's now, frowning tightly. "Disobedience is not tolerated. God's will is not meant to be questioned. I… I knew when I disobeyed that this was what I faced."

Gabriel held up a hand, his other pinching the bridge of his nose. He should stop digging, he really should, because the archangel was positive that he wasn't going to like where this conversation ended. But this wasn't just some angel, it was Castiel, and Gabriel was too fond of him to let this go.

"What exactly did you do, kiddo?"

The lesser angel sighed, looking away once more. "You know of our campaign against Egypt?"

"Uh, yeah, mighta read something in the papers about the shit-storm plagues all over the damn place. Kinda hard to miss, know what I'm saying?"

"The final plague to be inflicted was…" Castiel had to take a deep breath, and Gabriel quirked an eyebrow. What could have been worse than the frogs? Seriously, frogs were just the creepiest things ever, not to slander any of his Father's creations…

"Yeah?"

"To kill every first-born son, Gabriel. To slaughter them." Castiel's haunted eyes stared sightlessly ahead, his voice hollow as he told a horrified Gabriel, "There was a girl… a young woman with a baby boy. Her _first_ baby. She… she was begging me to spare him. Begging. She said he was innocent, he was only an infant. She pleaded…" Castiel's voice hitched, and he swallowed. "She pleaded for me to kill her instead, but to spare her child. I couldn't do it, Gabriel. I just… he was so _small_ , and she was so frightened..."

Gabriel's heart sank. Poor kid, he must have been traumatized to be faced with something so terrible.

"So you didn't kill him."

"I disobeyed," Castiel repeated mechanically. "My orders were to kill him, but I didn't." Suddenly, there was a flash in his eyes – a rush of defiance, a hint of the spirit that Gabriel remembered in his baby brother, and Castiel suddenly growled, "And if I were sent back now, I'd make the same choice."

In the middle of this gigantic, steaming, reeking pile of crap, Gabriel felt a flair of pride. Finally, one angel who wasn't blabbing on about "just following orders", but instead had hit on the key phrase: make the choice. Damn, but Gabriel loved his brother. With burning eyes, the archangel suddenly reached out and gripped Castiel's shoulder, surprising the young soldier into looking up at him. Gabriel gave him a nod – just one nod – but the smallest of smiles rose to Castiel's face and Gabriel knew that his brother read his approval.

They never had time for words, though. There was a flutter of wings and then an awkward cough as Ion announced his presence. Gabriel dropped his hand in annoyance, turning to the angel.

"I'm sorry," Ion whispered, again sounding genuine. "Naomi… she's ready for Castiel now. I- I have to take him."

"Yeah, and what exactly is she gonna do to him?" Gabriel demanded sharply.

"That, I cannot say."

Whether he didn't know, or simply wasn't allowed to say, Gabriel couldn't tell. The archangel watched stonily as Ion took Castiel by the arm – he _did_ note that unlike those who had dragged Castiel in here, Ion was being comparatively gentle, guiding him towards the door instead of manhandling him along.

Then, suddenly, Ion stopped and added, "However, I can promise you that angels always emerge alive and well."

Gabriel wasn't sure if this was meant to comfort him or Castiel himself, or maybe both. He didn't respond, as Ion and Castiel disappeared through the doors.

* * *

_Present day_

Gabriel was still leaning back in his chair, rocking slightly back and forth, deep in thought. Castiel was on the floor, eyes closed but twitching now and then, caught in the dream Gabriel was giving him of demons running around the Earth. The archangel's gaze occasionally lighted on Castiel, and then he sighed.

"Still don't know what to do with you, kiddo," he muttered. "I thought about just making you forget you ever saw me, but…"

But he remembered Naomi, and even though Gabriel frankly didn't give a damn about any of this anymore, something stayed his hand.

" _Damn_ you, Castiel," Gabriel grouched, slamming the chair down and staring up at the ceiling in exasperation. "Making me go soft! I guess I won't take your memories." He snorted. "Course, you've had enough memories taken that you probably wouldn't notice."

He glanced at his unconscious brother, informing him, "I'll never forget it, ya know. That was before I actually knew what Naomi was doing in her freaky little dungeon. But man, that first time you came out… She had you in there for… what, at least an Earth month? Maybe longer?"

Gabriel remembered how he'd waited anxiously for word that Castiel had returned to duty, some sign that he'd been released from Naomi. Gabriel wouldn't admit it, but he'd been terrified for his favorite fledgling, wanting to reassure himself that he really was okay.

So when he'd seen him walking sedately across Heaven, he'd flown straight over to Castiel.

_"Hey, bro! Castiel! Hey, you alright, kiddo?"_

_Castiel had looked so confused. "Of course, Gabriel. Why wouldn't I be?"_

_"What happened?"_

_"Oh, of course... you mean why am I here, instead of with my garrison."_ _Castiel sounded so distant, so vague, and Gabriel had stared at him in bafflement. He hadn't understood why the young soldier sounded so dazed, couldn't interrupt as Castiel told him, "I was sent back here to report our progress to upper management. Things are going well on our front."_

_...What?_

Gabriel supposed that was the first time he'd realized that whatever happened with Naomi, it was worse than he'd thought. There was something sinister happening in there, and he didn't want to know what it was.

But he did want to know what was wrong with Castiel.

_"Uh… ok, well, that's… that's good. But, what about Egypt?"_

_"What?"_

And damn it all, if Castiel hadn't had a clue what he was talking about. It was eerie, and Gabriel remembered well the goose flesh that had crawled over him, the drop in his stomach. He'd read it in Castiel's eyes: the warrior truthfully had no memory of Egypt or, clearly, of Naomi.

He couldn't have told Gabriel about the punishment, because Gabriel had realized in a heartbeat that Castiel didn't remember being punished at all. Geez, it'd been hard for Gabriel to stay standing, let alone play along.

_"Nothing. So… what're your orders?"_

_"Whatever they are,"_ _Castiel had immediately replied, a robot issuing the correct response, "I will follow them, of course. Disobedience is unacceptable."_

"DAMN it, Castiel," Gabriel snapped, leaping up from his chair and taking a few steps away from Castiel with a furious glare. "I haven't had to remember that crap in thousands of years, why the hell did you have to come back in here and bring it all back!? _Damn_ you!"

He was shaken, though, the memory just as chilling as the moment had been. Gabriel was pissed off now. There went his second best bet at Castiel not talking. If he couldn't kill his brother, and couldn't wipe his memories, then what?

There was a sudden tug at his grace, and Gabriel realized he was being called. The damn Winchesters, yes… yes, they still needed tending to. Gabriel turned to go, then paused. Looking back down at his brother, Gabriel raised his hand. One snap of his fingers and Castiel would be bound again, but after a second, the archangel dropped his hand and rolled his eyes.

"Eh, guess you're really not going anywhere whether I tie you up or not," he decided. He didn't wake Castiel up, but he did lean over and pull the duct tape away from his brother's mouth at last. "There, don't say I never did anything for you. Don't get too comfy, I'm still gonna have to deal with you somehow." Gabriel turned to go, then paused once again. Slowly, his gaze returned to Castiel, still lying on the floor.

The archangel's shoulders suddenly slumped a bit, and he murmured, "For the record, kid... I'm sorry."

The Winchesters' calls were getting more insistent. The moment broke. Rolling his eyes, Gabriel grumbled under his breath and disappeared in a flurry of wings.


	13. Roads Not Taken

Well, _this_ was embarrassing.

Gabriel didn't have a clue how the Winchesters had figured out that he was a big time angel, but he'd clearly underestimated them. Now, he was staring at the ring of burning holy oil with a touch of chagrin and quite a bit of irritation. It wasn't the first time he'd been trapped like this, but this time he was more annoyed than frightened.

The nerve of these two humans, thinking they could just trap him in here! The gall they showed, it would serve them right if Gabriel broke free – which he was perfectly capable of doing, by the way – and smote the crap out of them! But that would defeat the whole purpose of teaching them these lessons, of course. They'd figured out his true nature, fair and square, might as well lay all his cards on the table.

"Gabriel, okay?" he confessed. "They call me Gabriel."

"Gabriel?" Lucifer's vessel repeated incredulously. "The _archangel_?"

Well, he didn't have to sound quite so surprised. Gabriel smirked at him, shrugging airily. "Guilty."

Okay, yeah, going from archangel to Trickster probably made their tiny brains hurt, but Gabriel was the most cunning and powerful angel ever, though modest to a fault, of course. It wasn't _that_ big of a leap. But now these two idiots were screwing up his witness protection, without even the courtesy of a "sorry for the undue burden we're putting on you, Mr. Trickster". How human. Leaving Heaven and disappearing hadn't exactly been easy.

"Do you blame him?" Dean snorted. "I mean, his brothers are heavyweight douche-nozzles."

"Shut your cakehole," Gabriel instantly snarled, a menacing darkness in his glare. Those "douche-nozzles" were still HIS family, and NO ONE but him got to insult them, especially not some human. "You don't know anything about my family. I love my Father, my brothers. Love them. But watching them turn on each other? Tear at each other's throats? I couldn't bear it! Okay? So I left. And now it's happening all over again."

It wasn't a lie, not really. He _couldn't_ bear the fighting, that much was true, and it _had_ been a factor in his leaving. So... yeah, definitely not a lie. Maybe not the whole truth, though. But the rest of the story, the part that went untold, was absolutely none of their damn business.

Besides, Gabriel made it an active point to forget all about the circumstances of his departure, to bury those memories in the deepest, darkest part of himself.

"Then help us stop it!" pleaded the ginormous Winchester, filling Gabriel with incredulity.

"It can't be stopped." What, they thought this was a football game that could be called off over some bad weather? Were these yahoos even serious? Did they know nothing of the single-mindedness of angels, particularly _these_ angels?!

"You wanna see the end of the world?" Michael's vessel demanded, and Gabriel felt something in him snap.

"I want it to be _over_!" the archangel shouted, not the first time he'd admitted that out loud. "I have to sit back and watch my own brothers kill each other thanks to you two!" And by GOD, he'd watched enough angels die! "Heaven, Hell, I don't care who wins! I just want it to be over!"

"It doesn't have to be like that," Lucifer's vessel was trying to convince him now. They really had no idea, Gabriel realized with impatient disdain. And Michael had called _him_ naïve. He laughed, but without any humor, as he snapped,

"You do _not_ know my family. What you guys call the apocalypse, _I_ used to call Sunday dinner. That's why there's no stopping this, because this isn't about a war. It's about two brothers that loved each other and betrayed each other." No... forget just betrayed "each other". They had betrayed everyone, and everything. In the end, it was nothing more than two angels, who'd turned on each other. For that, the entirety of existence was going to be torn asunder.

God, how it had broken his heart, back when he'd given a damn about anything at all - back when he'd even had a heart to break.

"What the hell are you saying?" Dean growled at him.

Damn, these kids were just clueless, which left it up to Gabriel to have to force it through their thick skulls that they had always been meant for Lucifer and Michael, and that this was going to happen and there was nothing they could do about it but give in. One of them would kill the other. Well, more accurately, one of _his_ brothers would kill the other, but they'd be wearing Sam and Dean at the time, so it really came to the same thing. That was just destiny.

He could see the denial in their faces. Damn it all, but he knew that denial, that confusion, that refusal to believe something so horrible could really be happening... and for a second, Gabriel actually almost felt sorry for them.

But there were no easy answers, and if they didn't do this, then the world was going to burn anyway – it'd just take longer. Either way, it was going to end bloody for all of them. Might as well have done with it, and maybe finally… _finally_ … it would all be over.

If they didn't like the way this story ended, well... that really wasn't Gabriel's problem.

"So, boys," Gabriel finally tossed out after he'd done as much as he possibly could to get through to the two. "Now what? We stare at each other for the rest of eternity?"

"Well, first of all, you're gonna bring Cas back from wherever you stashed him," the surlier Winchester all but ordered. Gabriel's eyes narrowed.

"Oh, am I?" He hadn't ever taken orders from Michael, and he sure as hell wasn't going to take them from his vessel.

"Yeah. Or we're going to dunk you in some holy oil and deep-fry ourselves an archangel."

Gabriel regarded him, then flicked his gaze over to the gigantic one. Sam's face betrayed nothing, and the archangel was pretty sure they'd actually do it. On the other hand, he realized suddenly, what was his alternative? Keep Castiel prisoner forever? He'd been looking for a solution to Castiel's presence, after all, and anyway it was too late to keep his identity a secret. Might as well just give him back to the Winchesters, at this point.

Giving Dean a dirty look, Gabriel grudgingly snapped his fingers, erasing the pocket dimension he'd created for Castiel. His brother appeared immediately, still a bit rumpled and bruised, but alive.

"Cas, you okay?" the grumpy Winchester instantly demanded, while Castiel and Gabriel stared each other down.

"I'm fine," Castiel assured him, eyes dark and flashing as he added with pointed coolness, "Hello, Gabriel." He'd clearly had plenty of time to nurse his resentment, unable to say much while gagged.

"Hey, bro," Gabriel retorted, as though Castiel hadn't just been trapped with him for the last how long. Now that Castiel was awake, he had that look on his face again, and Gabriel wasn't sure how much more of it he could take.

It was that damn accusation, and it had nothing to do with being held captive by the archangel. Gabriel knew exactly what that look was for, and it made him want to smite something.

Just to be spiteful, he added, "How's the search for Daddy going? Let me guess... _awful_." Like he hadn't already tried that, a long time ago! Castiel's glare only deepened, but Gabriel didn't give a damn.

"Ok, we're out of here," Winchester Number One growled, turning to Winchester Number Two. "Come on, Sam."

"Uh, okay… guys?" Gabriel called after them, spreading his hands to remind them that there was still a ring of fricking holy oil here that he couldn't cross. True, he had a way out, but they didn't know that, which meant it was highly ungrateful of them to just walk off. "So- so what? You're just gonna leave me here forever?"

The look that Castiel gave him as even he turned his back and walked to the door said perfectly clearly that Gabriel would deserve such a fate. Gabriel didn't really have a response to that and he didn't try to think of one.

"No," Dean shot back, turning around at the door. "We're not, 'cause we don't screw with people the way you do. And for the record? This isn't about some prize fight between your brothers or some destiny that can't be stopped. This is about you being too afraid to stand up to your family."

Gabriel's face grew dark, and hatred rumbled in his chest. Every single solitary piece of will power that he possessed was poured into restraining himself from smiting the asshole where he stood. What the hell did Dean know about Gabriel, anyway? What the hell did he know about what Gabriel had or hadn't done for his family? For a moment, his vision started to turn red, so great was his fury – but only part of it was directed at the Winchester.

If he had only done it differently...

At the door, Dean pulled the fire alarm, activating the sprinklers. Gabriel looked up in dismay as the human shot out, "Don't say I never did anything for you," Gabriel's own words to Castiel coming back to mock him. Then, all three were gone.

"Really, asshole?" Gabriel grumbled under his breath. Trapping him in an oil fire and then dumping water on it?! Either Dean was trying to kill him, or he was just too ignorant to know that all that was going to do was spread the fire, not put it out. Gabriel suspected it was the latter.

However, the archangel had spent the last few millennia on the run – he'd prepared for these sorts of situations after the last time. Digging into his pocket, Gabriel pulled out a token with a sigil carved into it – all he had to do was drop it on the floor and any holy fire would be extinguished. He did know something about sigils.

Gabriel hesitated, though, staring at the token as water streamed down his face. He tried to remind himself that the past was over and he didn't care, but it was hard to completely not care when he thought about what his brothers and sisters had been through, worse than just burning up in a flash. They'd been tortured and brainwashed and changed. If he'd only done it differently, maybe... maybe...

...maybe burning _was_ what he deserved.

Gabriel's hand twitched suddenly, and the token fell to the floor, making up his mind for him. The wildly spreading fire evaporated into thin air instantaneously, leaving Gabriel free.

And now he was alone.

Again.

With all the memories he'd successfully managed to shut out for untold millennia, memories that now threatened to tear him apart, and a new self-hatred and guilt growing that Gabriel had absolutely no power or will to control.

He remembered…

* * *

The stars were singing.

In the serene, secluded nook of Heaven with the first sigil, Gabriel and Eleanor sat side by side with their feet kicking slowly back and forth in the little pool. Lilies drifted by, occasionally brushing the angels' legs as the flowers filled the nook with their delicate scent. Both angels had their wings out, brushing against each other tenderly as the two held hands and just sat.

It had been years upon years now since their souls had bonded and melded together; this was evident just from looking at their wings, taking on each other's characteristics. Eleanor's were still the same lovely, graceful arches of a swan, but instead of being pure white, there was an obvious golden tinge to the light they radiated. Gabriel's were still the same enormous, powerful eagle wings of an archangel, but while the primaries and secondaries remained sleek, the coverts had become softer and softer like down.

Gabriel could never get tired of listening to this incredible song. In the millennia that he'd been coming in here to listen, he'd still not fully grasped the complexities of the chorus, the subtleties of the harmonies. The beauty still took his breath away, something far beyond his ken.

And it was nothing – absolutely nothing – compared to the angel who had made it possible for him to hear in the first place.

The archangel gave Eleanor's hand a slight squeeze, his thumb gliding smoothly back and forth over hers. His wing reached down to brush some hair away from her cheeks, before it resumed its adoring strokes over her downy plumage. Ellie twisted to look up at him, the happiest smile in all the kingdom on her glowing face.

It was enough, Gabriel knew, just to be here with her. He would want nothing else as long as he lived, so long as he had her.

He smiled back, soft golden eyes drifting over her face, her light.

_'You are the most perfect work Father ever crafted."_

Her wing entwined with his, the golden glow pulsating in delight at the thoughts in his soul. Ellie laid her head down in his shoulder, breathing deeply and easily. He felt her safety, and it thrilled him as nothing else could.

Leaning over, Gabriel left a light but lingering kiss on top of her head, inhaling the scent of her essence. She smelled of wildflowers and drops of light.

It was his favorite scent.

_"I love you, Gabriel. You're the only one I would trust my soul to."_

He kissed her head again, both of them still lazily swinging their feet through the water.

_"And you're my paradise. You're my eternity, El."_

The connection between them glowed, a dazzling gold that surrounded the two angels. The bonding of their souls had long since become permanent. Angels didn't mate the same way humans did, but their bond, by its very nature, was all the more sacred. Few had ever made the commitment but those who did were bonded forever.

Gabriel would have had it no other way, nor would she.

Picking her head up, just so she could look at him again, Eleanor smiled. Gabriel loved the way it made the corners of her eyes crinkle up, loved the way the passionate light seemed to spill from those soft grey eyes like she was literally too happy to contain the joy. He loved the way that smile made his soul flutter, even now.

Who could say how long they sat there like that, not speaking out loud but communicating perfectly between their lovingly stroking wings and connected souls. Finally, Gabriel broke the silence as he whispered suddenly,

"I have something for you."

Eleanor leaned back a bit, though her wing continued to run gracefully over his own. "Oh?" she replied, sounding surprised. "What is it?"

"Close your eyes."

He felt her wing twitch in excitement, and she did as he'd asked. Gabriel was smiling as he opened his hand; in his palm, a necklace suddenly appeared, a delicate golden chain with a glowing jewel. The jewel shone with a brilliant light, swirling inside as though the light itself were alive. Carefully, the archangel clasped the necklace around Ellie's neck, and murmured,

"Okay… open!"

She did so, looking down in curiosity, then instantly gasped.

"Gabriel!" Eleanor was dumbfounded, wings snapping outright and then folding as her full attention turned to the jewel. "You… but this is your _grace_!"

"Just a piece of it," Gabriel laughed, absently reaching out to run his fingers over her feathers. Then, a tad uncertainly, he quickly asked, "Do you like it?"

Her eyes shot up to meet his and the archangel was nearly bowled over by the feelings she emitted to him, telling him in no uncertain terms not to be so silly, that she didn't just like it – she _loved_ it! "I can't, though," she protested, lifting the jewel slightly to gaze in awe at the swirling, living grace inside. "Gabriel, I can't take your grace!"

"Oh please, I've got plenty," he assured her with a smile.

"There's so much power… the energy is _massive_ …" With a light giggle, Eleanor suddenly added almost shyly, "And it's so beautiful."

"Oh please," Gabriel whispered again, fingers sliding from her wing to her chin, tilting that enchanting face up to look at him. "It pales in comparison."

"Gabriel… thank you."

She was glowing even more radiantly than the grace, in Gabriel's eyes, and he watched her lovingly. "It's a jewel fit for a queen," he replied. "And you're a queen among angels, Ellie. You're _my_ queen."

There was no better thanks he could have ever asked for than the expression on her face and the delight in her soul. Gabriel put a hand to the jewel and it turned opaque, hiding the grace contained within though it still continued to glow like a living ember. "There," he said in satisfaction. "Perfect."

But not quite as perfect as her.

For a while, they fell into companionable conversation, light-hearted and unhurried. It gave Gabriel a chance to listen to her easy laughter, and watch her absent-minded motions as she spoke. All the while, their wings never left each other, and occasionally, they would reach out to stroke the other's feathers just for the sheer joy of doing so.

"Gabriel…" Eleanor eventually said. "I've been thinking."

"Yeah, you do that a lot," Gabriel agreed, wingtip running down her arm. "In fact, it's kinda scary how good at it you are..."

She laughed softly, but her expression quickly turned serious. Gabriel could tell that was his cue to pay attention, so he shifted around to face her, waiting expectantly. Eleanor looked hesitant, as though not sure she should continue, but the archangel sent a wave of gentle prodding through their connection.

"About what's happening around here. With the soldiers, and Naomi, and… and everything. It's getting pretty bad."

Well, that was a bit of an understatement. Gabriel nodded, still waiting. Eleanor wasn't prone to simply stating the obvious, there had to be a bigger point.

"Michael… well, both of them, really. Whatever their intentions started out as… I'm worried, Gabriel. I know they say the orders come from Father-"

Here, Gabriel could feel her sudden doubt, her growing disbelief in the origin of these orders, but he didn't comment. He had no proof that the orders _weren't_ from God, and poking that sleeping dragon was asking to multiply the troubles they already had.

"-but regardless, they run the show from here because they're archangels. So, they have Authority. No one disputes that…"

"But?"

Eleanor looked away, seeming to be thinking hard; then, she suddenly turned back to him with furrowed brow and murmured, "But they aren't the only archangels. They're not the only ones with the right to lead."

"Oooooooh-ho-ho, no no no. Let me stop you right there. Ellie, I know what you're thinking, and no. No, sugar."

"You know they'd follow you."

"Who?" Gabriel asked, raising an eyebrow. Not Michael or Raphael, that was certain.

"The angels. The soldiers. Everyone. Gabriel, listen. They obey Michael because they're scared of him, but they _trust_ you. They love you. They would follow you out of devotion instead of fear. Maybe you could even turn things around. Stop what's happening to the angels, stop the _war_."

Sighing, Gabriel took her hand and shook his head. He understood why she would say this, but he didn't want to hear or talk about these things. "Sure, except there's no way Michael's giving up command. Come on, El, he's always wanted to be in charge, he's not gonna stop just 'cause I want a piece of the pie. You know what that would mean, sugar."

Eleanor looked troubled, but she nodded. "I'm sure he wouldn't give up willingly," she agreed, though Gabriel could detect a 'but…' in there. "And I detest the idea of fighting, you know that. But… I'm starting to think that turning a blind eye is even worse."

"El. I'm _not_ gonna fight him. Besides, he'd kick my ass! I mean, babe, granted I'm awesome and badass and all, but I'm not stupid. Fighting Michael? Even if I wanted to, which I _don't_ , he's already kicked Luci down to the basement, and Lucifer is a tough son of a bitch. I wouldn't stand a chance!"

Much as he hated to admit that.

Besides, his entire basis for protesting this war in the first place was in wanting to stop the fighting between his brothers. How could he just jump in and start doing the exact same thing?

"I don't think that's true," Eleanor suddenly said, her hands giving his a squeeze. "Yes, Michael is a powerful warrior, one of the strongest."

"And Raphael, don't forget him, ya know he'd second Michael." Or would he simply seize the opportunity to steal command out from both of them? Or wait to see who emerged the victor? It was hard to tell with Raphael, who was so cautious in revealing his ambitions – of which he assuredly had plenty.

"And in a battle of arms alone, you might find yourself hard pressed to beat one or both of them. But you've got something so much more dangerous than a blade."

With an airy grin, Gabriel cocked his eyebrow and gave Eleanor his most roguish smile in hopes of distracting her from this uncomfortable line of thought. "I know… my stunning personality. It's just overwhelming for most angels."

She swatted him, dryly muttering, "Not for me." When Gabriel laughed, Eleanor squeezed his hands again and went on insistently, "You have _imagination_. I've seen you do things with your grace that Michael would never dream of on his best day. Not because he couldn't do the things you do if he knew how, but because he simply can't think creatively. All he can do is fight, but you… you can imagine. With that, Gabriel, you're practically limitless, you know that, right?"

Heaving a sigh, Gabriel twisted away from Eleanor and shook his head. "That's very flattering, babe, but I don't _want_ to be in charge, it's that simple. I don't wanna command, I don't wanna start a third faction of angels. It's bad enough there's two. I'm not fighting Michael, and that's final."

"It's your right as an archangel-"

"Which means it's Michael's right, too, even if he _is_ a dick about it. Hey, I don't like what's going on out there, but me getting involved would only make things worse. Trust me."

And Eleanor, bless her, dropped it and nodded slightly, though she still seemed troubled.

If Gabriel had listened to her, there was no telling what might have happened.

But that was the truth of all roads not taken, and the regret of all choices not made.


	14. Sacrifice

Gabriel had successfully managed to put Eleanor's suggestion that he should lead the angels out of his mind. He wasn't a follower, by any stretch of the imagination – but he was certainly no leader, either. The archangel was an independent spirit, a force of his own, controlled by and controlling no one. The idea of leadership… shudder. Nope, he had Eleanor, and that was enough.

Meanwhile, the requests to Eleanor to create some sigils to aid Michael's side of the war had been coming more insistently, to both of their irritation... and the situation in Heaven just kept getting worse.

"You should know," Eleanor said as soon as Gabriel arrived back from a trip to Earth. "Castiel is back again. I believe they've taken him to Naomi."

"What th-  _again_?!"

Eleanor nodded unhappily. She shook her head, murmuring, "I worry about him. Castiel has such a noble heart, but he has always followed his own path. You and I may find that admirable, but Michael does not. I'm afraid they're going to break him someday."

The archangel couldn't even reply, stuck on the fact that Castiel had been brought to Heaven to be punished – or "re-educated" as they were calling it these days – yet again. "But- what does that make this, four times now? More than anyoneelse."

Huh. Apparently, whatever process they were using, it didn't work quite as well as they would like to think. Although Gabriel shuddered to think how Castiel would emerge so dull and robotic, he couldn't help but feel a rush of fiery satisfaction at the knowledge that clearlyit wasn't going to stick.

Not with his favorite fledgling, at least.

"I don't like this," Eleanor murmured, before heaving a sigh. "It's just… it scares me. Michael scares me, Raphael, too. Every time, I tell myself they won't cross that next line... and then every time, they do. Do they even havea limit? I- I don't know what to believe anymore."

"Believe in  _us_ ," Gabriel replied instantly. He stepped forward, taking Eleanor's shoulders, and gazed down at her with sincerity and devotion. "We've still got us, Ellie, no matter what."

Eleanor gave him a small smile, but Gabriel could feel how much all of this was starting to weigh on her. He hated that; Gabriel hated for her to be so burdened by this, and he wished he could put that glowing smile back on her face, the radiating passion in her eyes, the lightness in her bearing that was so often absent these days.

Before she could say anything, though, they were interrupted by the muted sound of an explosion. Dust rained down from the vaulted ceiling as the floor trembled, and Gabriel's first wildly frantic thought was of the battles between Michael and Lucifer, ages ago.

Had Lucifer gotten back into Heaven?!

But Eleanor suddenly gripped Gabriel's arm, her face chalk-white, as she gasped, "No… no, it  _can't_  be…"

"Lucifer?!"

"Raphael… No,  _no!_ "

And then she was off and running, full speed out the door towards where the explosion had come from. Once again, Gabriel found himself bolting after her, fear starting to grow in his chest. What was happening? What did Raphael have to do with it? And  _why_ did Eleanor always insist on running straight out into the middle of danger?!

"What have you done?!" he heard Eleanor cry out. She rushed forward, and Gabriel could clearly see Raphael standing idly by, another motionless figure on the ground. "Aaeon?! Aaeon, NO, oh no! Raphael, erase it! Erase it before it destroys us!"

"Ellie?" Gabriel called after her, hurrying forward as well. He frowned, then blanched, sickened, as his gaze caught the most horrifying sight to an angel: wings, charred and ashy, burned into the ground around the motionless figure. The angel was dead. "What happened?!"

"He failed," replied Raphael with a shrug, watching aloofly as Eleanor cast out her hand and obliterated a half-formed sigil that Aaeon must have been sketching on the ground. Clearly, he'd been trying his own hand at creating a new sigil, and it had blown up in his face - literally.

An angel, dead in Heaven! Raphael appeared unaffected, but Gabriel watched with mouth hanging open in dismay as Eleanor fell to her knees at the dead angel's side.

"What were you  _doing_?!" she sobbed, a fist crashing down on the angel's chest in grief. "What were you  _thinking_?! You haveto stabilize the sigil first, you  _cannot_ contain that much power without the buffers in place! You  _always_ draw the buffers first to keep the energy from rebounding, why did you  _do_  that, you-"

She broke off, consumed by her desolated sorrow. Leaning over the dead angel's body, Eleanor burst into anguished, sobbing tears. Gabriel exhaled shakily, then cast a disbelieving look at Raphael. The archangel hadn't so much as twitched. Did he not understand, a brother was dead?

Gabriel just shook his head in furious disgust and then crossed swiftly to Eleanor's side. "Ellie," he murmured gently, taking her elbow and pulling her up. She turned towards him, throwing her arms around his neck and weeping into his shoulder. "Shh… I know, Ellie."

"He didn't have to die!" she sobbed, as Gabriel rubbed her back with a strong hand.

Raphael stepped forward at that, though a single look from Gabriel kept him from approaching any farther. "No, he didn't," Raphael agreed, sorrow in his voice but not his eyes. "It's a shame, but he didn't have your skills, Eleanor. Alas. Perhaps the next will do better."

"The next?!" Eleanor shouted, ripping herself away from Gabriel and rounding on Raphael instead. "You don't understand the power you're trying to harness! NONE of you do because you've never bothered to learn! You're playing with weapons that you don't understand! Aaeon  _died_ because he didn't know what he was doing, and neither will the "next"! How many have to die _,_ Raphael!?"

Gabriel would have sworn he saw the corner of his brother's mouth twitch, a triumphant gleam in Raphael's eye as Gabriel grabbed Eleanor's arm to make sure she didn't do something utterly stupid, like actually attacking the archangel. Raphael didn't seem angry, though, as he shrugged elegantly and asked,

"I don't know, Eleanor… how many? How many dohave to die, needlessly, when you could have saved them all by doing this one simple thing for us?"

Suddenly, Gabriel understood exactlywhy Raphael was so unaffected by this.

He nearly staggered, overwhelmed by the horrific epiphany, wishing he could un-realize this truth. Raphael did understand that the angel was dead… but he was not distressed, because this death had been expected.

Worse… this death had been counted on.

Perhaps Raphael had not created the first demon, but what he haddone was no less evil than any of Lucifer's misdeeds. This angel had been sacrificed to get Eleanor's attention.

Gabriel went numb, a chill racing through his soul. "Oh, you son of a bitch."

"Careful, Gabriel… that's our Father you're talking about."

If he had not had Eleanor to take care of, Gabriel would have leaped at Raphael. How could he have donethis to one of his own brothers?! Eleanor had seen it now, too. Gabriel felt it in the way her body went entirely rigid. He saw it in the shocked burst of light her aura released, before it faded entirely, and he felt her pain in his own soul. He knew she saw it now – this was the trap. This was the trap that they had known she would walk straight in to, in order to spare more angels.

For a long, terribly tense moment, Eleanor could say nothing. She only stared at Raphael, disbelief and horror in her tear-filled eyes.

Then, she slumped, and Gabriel knew with an enraged heart that Raphael had won. "Ellie, you don't have to do this!" he snarled, livid golden eyes burning into his elder brother. Raphael only raised an eyebrow.

"Of course she doesn't," he assured them. "Like you said… she's not one of our soldiers. I can't command her, but I  _can_ command them. I'm sure eventually one of them will come up with something. Unfortunately, we'll probably go through quite a few more failures first, but…" His fierce gaze caught Eleanor, as he finished, "…at least  _you_ can happily continue not helping."

"You  _bastard_." Gabriel seethed. He had never been so angry. Not with Michael, not with Lucifer. Thiswas twisted, even for Raphael. "This is sick!"

"No, this is  _war_ , Gabriel!" thundered Raphael. "There are casualties in war! I wouldn't expect you to understand, you who won't even fight to defend our home. What would youknow of casualties? You haven't seen the battlefields filled with the charred wings of our brothers and sisters, cut down by the rebels! You sit up here in Heaven and act like you're righteous for sitting out, because you stillrefuse to see how evil Lucifer has become!"

There was a shadow, a dark and terrifying shadow on Gabriel's face, but he didn't attack Raphael; it wouldn't bring Aaeon back. Instead, he seethed,

"Oh, I know evil when I see it, brother. But when I look at Lucifer, and when I look at you… I see no difference."

With one last furious glare, Gabriel turned his back on Raphael, an arm around Ellie as he guided her away from the terrible sight. Other angels were starting to emerge now, the horrified cry taken up by all those in Heaven; soon, a song of mourning would begin, to grieve for their fallen brother.

"El, you don't have to make the sigils," Gabriel reminded her quietly as they pushed through the gathering crowd. She was still sobbing her anguish for the dead angel, so callously tossed aside, but now she shook her head and choked out,

"I-I… I must… I can't- Aaeon didn't- they can't do it… they can't, they don't kn-know how… it's too dangerous to p-play with power you don't understand... If I don't do this..."

Gabriel wanted nothing more than to reassure her that Raphael wouldn't reallyask any soldiers to try making sigils, not now that he'd seen for himself that to make a mistake could cost an angel his or her life. Gabriel wanted nothing more than to swear to her that Raphael would never risk another angel like that.

But he didn't believe it anymore.

* * *

Gabriel didn't leave Heaven while Eleanor worked on the sigils. He sat in her office, silent and watchful, while she frowned over her notes and made fierce scribbles on various scrolls. The archangel's soul hurt for her – Ellie's shoulders were so tight, her eyes so empty. The light in her soul had been all but extinguished, and he knew she hated what she was doing.

He hated it, too, but it was Michael and Raphael who were to blame. This was sick, and only the fact that Lucifer was no better was keeping Gabriel from even vaguely considering leaving with Eleanor. But this was their  _home_ , so what could they do?

Gabriel didn't like feeling so helpless, wishing he could even comfort Eleanor, but she had gone quiet. He read her like a book, knowing from her body language alone when she did or did not want any contact. Right now was a clear hand's off, but he was desperate to touch her, to rub her shoulders, or kiss her head, or do anythingto give her the smallest bit of comfort and support.

Finally, Eleanor gathered up a scroll and got up abruptly from her desk without a word, walking swiftly out the door. Gabriel looked up in surprise, then followed after her, trailing behind. Perhaps she didn't want his company, or she would have said something before leaving… but he couldn't bear the thought of being away from her right now.

He would just hang back, ready to move in if necessary.

Gabriel tailed Eleanor all the way through the Halls, following her purposeful footsteps to the marble hall where Michael liked to sit and fancy himself important. Michael noticed her coming (of course, it would have been difficult to overlook her storming into the Hall) and rose with a satisfied look.

Leaning against a pillar in the background where he could watch everything without being obvious, Gabriel waited.

"Here." Eleanor's teeth were gritted, her fury evident, and she didn't seem to be trying to hide this from the archangel. "It's a banishing sigil. Follow the directions and any angel but the one who draws it will be sent away."

"Permanently?"

"No," she snapped. "But if any of Heaven's soldiers get trapped in a corner, it'll buy them time to get out."

Actually... that was damnclever, Gabriel realized with a raised eyebrow. Something the angels could clearly use as a defensiveaddition to their arsenal, a way to protect themselves, but without actually killing anyone. Eleanor was a genius.

A very pissed off genius. Eleanor threw the scroll down onto the floor in front of Michael, her face set in a mask of anger. Michael eyed her coolly, then snapped his fingers; the scroll jumped up to his hand. Gabriel was fairly certain that only his protection and her importance as Heaven's sole sigil crafter were letting her get away with this blatant lack of respect to the oh-so-mighty panjandrum, Mr. Big Britches himself.

"Now, was that so hard?" Michael asked in annoyance as he unrolled the scroll and gave it a cursory glance - missing the way Eleanor's flashing eyes narrowed even more. "When can we expect the next one? Perhaps one that causes a more…  _conclusive_  ending for our enemies?"

"Go to Hell," she spat out in reply. Gabriel's eyes widened and he nearly staggered back in shock, confident that no one but Lucifer had ever dared say something like that to Michael.

The archangel's cool gaze hardened at her words, and he took a step forward. Gabriel prepared to move in, not aboutto let him get a hand on Eleanor, but his elder brother didn't attack. Instead, he jabbed a finger at her, snarling, "You forget your place,  _angel_. Just because Gabriel treats you like an equal doesn't mean that you are one."

Eleanor, for her part, didn't back down. Her chin lifted, as regal as a queen, and Gabriel felt the flash of spirit rising in her. "When will it be enough for you, Michael?" she demanded. "When  _all_ the angels are dead, what then?! What happens when there areno more angels left for you to command? Angels are  _dying_ -"

"War is not won without casualties! And you will  _not_ question me!"

"Michael,  _wake up_!" pleaded Eleanor, sounding truly desperate now. "Heaven's warriors are fierce, but they aren't infinite! And you… you're so busy commandingthat you probably haven't even noticed the nurseries!"

"What of the nurseries?" Michael snarled. Angels had been mercilessly punished for much less than the refusal to back down that Eleanor was showing.

Eleanor barreled right along, though, more guts and gumption than the hardiest warrior as she snapped, "They're  _empty_ , Michael!"

Silence rang across the Hall as Michael stared at her, frowning tightly. Gabriel felt himself go cold, gaping at the news that he hadn't known, either. He hadn't thought about it, but when  _had_ the last little fledgling been formed? Why had he not noticed this absence before?

Michael didn't seem to have a reply, and Eleanor finally went on, "If you paid half the attention to your homethat you do your enemies, you'd have noticed! Don't you understand? There are no more fledglings. Samandriel is the last of them, Father has stoppedcreating angels! Wake up, Michael. There's no more recruits, no replacements. When we're all  _dead_ , what then? Who will protect the humans then? How many angels have to diein the name of your war!?"

"AS MANY AS IT TAKES!" Michael erupted, his voice echoing over the marble as his grace flared in rage. Eleanor's eyes widened and she took a step back – not in fear, but in horror at his words. Gabriel was shaken, trying and failing to pretend his brother hadn't really just said that.

Didn't he… didn't he care at  _all_? Was beating Lucifer really the only thing that mattered to him, and screw the cost?

Eleanor just stared, at an absolute loss for words, but then, so quietly that even Gabriel almost couldn't hear her, she asked, "You know what  _I_  think?"

"Ohhhh no, hold on," Gabriel muttered, swiftly snapping his fingers. Michael's heaving chest froze; the youngest archangel had frozen time. He'd heard that tone from Eleanor before and he knew that whatevershe thought, it was sure to be the final straw for Michael. He flew forward, taking Eleanor's hand as she leaned up towards Michael and hissed in a quiet, livid voice,

"Father would be ashamedof you."

"Come on, Eleanor," Gabriel whispered, too stricken to even  _look_ at Michael. His brother didn't  _care_ … he didn't even care. Yes, the words had been yelled in anger, but… somehow, they rang with a certain truth that Gabriel simply could not and would not face. He didn't want to see Michael right now, didn't want to be in his presence.

"Thanks for the backup, Gabriel," Eleanor growled, wrenching her hand away from him and flying off with a rush of wings that the archangel had never felt more disconnected from. He closed his eyes, letting out a long, miserable breath.

It was true, though, wasn't it… he hadn't backed her up. He'd stayed in the background like a coward while  _she_ faced down the eldest archangel, while  _she_ gave Michael the talking to he deserved. Eleanor, who had no authority, had stepped up, and he, an archangel, hadn't done anything but hang back in the shadows. A sickening pit formed in Gabriel's stomach, already feeling waves of guilt and shame flooding his soul.

He couldn't take much more of this, truly couldn't. Gabriel considered flying after Eleanor, but decided to give her a moment first. Instead, he unfroze Heaven and flew towards the nurseries, hesitantly pushing his way inside.

"Damn…" Gabriel walked slowly around what had once been a hall overflowing with exuberant little angels and their boisterous, tiny voices. He'd loved coming here, loved playing with the little tykes, but it had been so long since he'd given it a thought. When had Eleanor noticed it? Why hadn't she pointed this out before now?

Why hadn't  _he_ noticed?

The silence in here was deafening. It might as well have been a tomb; if this had been on Earth, there would have been cobwebs in the abandoned corners and a layer of dust on the floor. It even smelledunused, a certain mustiness that shouldn't even exist in Heaven, like a castle long forgotten. Gabriel's chest was aching, as he finally reached a far corner, where one little angel sat, entertaining himself with colored lights on the ground that filtered through a nearby window. Nearby, an older angel was watching over him dutifully, offering Gabriel a respectful nod as he approached.

"Gabriel, is there something wrong?" the angel asked, but the archangel shook his head.

"Nah, just thought I'd come see the pipsqueak," he replied with a forced cheer in his voice. Little Samandriel looked up, face lighting with awe and delight that someone had come to play with him, and it was  _Gabriel_!

"Gabe-el!" he squealed happily, for all the world as though he'd just been handed a treasure. Samandriel giggled and clapped his hands together, scurrying over to his big brother with arms spread wide. "Gabe-el, throw!"

"Throw?" Gabriel repeated theatrically, grabbing Samandriel up and swinging him over his head so that the fledgling shrieked with laughter. "You mean like this?!" He tossed the fledgling up, ignoring the panicked expression on the fussy older angel nearby.

"Wheeeeee!" Samandriel shouted, then giggled again as Gabriel caught him easily. "Higher, Gabe-el! Higher!"

Gabriel felt his eyes burn, but he just gave Samandriel a grin and tossed him up in the air again, letting the fledgling's elated laughter fill his soul. Poor Samandriel was so happy just to have a playmate, so the archangel stayed for a while longer, letting the fledgling try to wrestle him to the floor, pretending to fall gloriously so the little one could pounce on him. This was how all angels learned to fight, the importance of tussling and playing around. Apart from being lonely, how was Samandriel supposed to learn these things without someone to play with?

After a while, the archangel could take it no more. He needed to apologize to Ellie. Not that he deserved her forgiveness for hiding in the background, but this would be so much easier to face as long as they had each other. He couldn't bear to deal with this  _and_ carry her anger as well. Gabriel knew why she was so angry with him, but he could fix that. Maybe... maybe he could do a lot more fixing than he'd been doing.

"Alright, pipsqueak, you be good, 'kay?" Gabriel said out loud, setting Samandriel down and giving him an exaggerated scowl. "Or I'll come  _get_ you!"

Samandriel giggled again, launching himself forward suddenly and wrapping his little arms around Gabriel's knees. "You're the bestest, Gabe-el!"

Damn, the rugrat really needed some playmates, Gabriel realized, Samandriel's honest delight at having company tugging at his heartstrings. Maybe the army was none of his concern, but he coulddelegate the task to some of the younger angels to come entertain the lonely fledgling and make sure he was getting in his fair amount of play time.

There had to be  _something_ he could do to fix the terrible things that were going on. If Eleanor could be brave enough to stand up to Michael, then surely Gabriel could make more of an effort here in Heaven.

But first, he had a soul mate to love and console.


	15. Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a brief mention of something from my other fics here, because this IS the same AU-verse as Where They Don't Belong and The One You Feed. It's not essential for you to read those (Gabriel doesn't understand what's going on, either) but if you're curious, that's where the answers are to the seemingly random detail. ^_^
> 
> Also, a little more head canon about angels and their wings, also brought up in the other stories.

For cryingout loud, this was ridiculous. Gabriel was  _not_ lonely and he did  _not_ care what Castiel and those two Winchester bozos were up to. He especiallywasn't feeling anything remotely like chagrin for how he'd treated Castiel – who had clearlydeserved what he'd gotten – and Gabriel had no interest in assuring himself that the younger angel was holding up. Honest.

It was just, he knew what separation from Heaven felt like for an archangel who didn't give a damn; how much harder must it be on someone like Castiel, who gave way more damns than absolutely necessary?

NOT that Gabriel cared. The time for giving a thought to someone besides himself was long gone, burned away with the false image of his own wings scorched into the ground so long ago.

Gabriel sighed, staring around the penthouse he'd set himself up in. It was overdone in sweets, cheesy music, and barely dressed women all laughing and having a party under the disco ball he'd decided he desperately needed. Anything he wanted, it took nothing but a snap his fingers and he'd have it.

But not one single solitary piece of it all was real. It all existed solely for his company, but Gabriel felt completely alone.

He couldalways just poke his head in on Castiel – 'Cas', as the Winchester losers called him – and see if they were any closer to accepting their roles. It was a drag to have to track them down, of course, definitely an imposition, and he didn't WANTto see Cas – honest – but someonehad to make sure those two got on track. Yeah. Yeah, that was all.

Of course, Castiel and the dynamic duo were warded against being found, and being an archangel wasn't going to change that – but Gabriel wasthe most clever of all the angels who'd ever existed, and though it had never occurred to the other angels, that monstrosity that Dean drove was  _not_ warded... and it was singularly easy to find.

Because, really, how many old, black Impalas werethere driving around within the radius of how far they could have gotten?

A quick sweep of all the seedy types of cheap motels that he knew they frequented (nothing said "classy" like a cheap motel, after all. At least  _he_ had a penthouse.) and Gabriel had found the Impala within an hour.

Too bad Michael hadn't ever thought of that, but then again, Michael had no imagination.

It was almost three in the morning, and Gabriel was invisible as he flew right through the locked door into the motel room. Sure enough, there was the warded threesome. Sam and Dean were passed out on either of the beds… Castiel was curled up in an armchair.

He was asleep, and that was Gabriel's first cue that baby bro really wasn't doing so hot. Angels didn't sleep. Damn, the kid must be losing grace fast.

"What the hell happened to us, huh, bro?" Gabriel muttered softly, standing over Castiel and watching him sleep, for all the world like he was just a human. "Funny how things work out."

There was nothing funny about it at  _all_.

"I remember when I was your hero," he informed his sleeping brother, sitting himself on one of the chair's arms. "I mean, all that really means is you had good taste. Back then, at least. Dunno what the hell you're doing runnin' around with  _these_ two."

Then, Gabriel paused, looking back over his shoulder at Sam and Dean. Okay, so he'd grudgingly give them this much: they seemed to legitimately care about Cas. Maybe they just found him useful, maybe not, but a voice in the back of Gabriel's soul kept whispering that their devotion to the angel was pure.

Whatever, Gabriel didn't really care; it wasn't his problem either way. Still, he added to Castiel now, "I guess you could do worse than them, of course. Not muchworse, don't get me wrong. Man, I just wish I knew why you Fell, for  _them_. Nah, don't answer that, I really don't care. Anyway… guess you learned the hard way I'm not really hero material, huh?"

Why had he even come, honestly?! Gabriel stood back up, irritated with himself. There was nopoint in getting all sentimental. He'd come, he'd seen, he was outta there. What had he expected, for the three of them to be huddled in a pow-wow agreeing that they should have listened to the wisdom of Gabriel from the beginning and that they'd finally man the hell up after they'd been idioticenough to release Lucifer in the first place?!

Gabriel snorted, rolling his eyes. Right. Like thatwas gonna happen.

"Yeah, I'm outta here," he grumbled. "You're on your own, Cas." There were a thousand things he suddenly wanted to say – maybe the reason he'd come here in the first place – but once again, he was running.

Because, that's what he did. When the chips were down… Gabriel ran. It was just a habit that no amount of self-loathing could cure or change.

But damn it, Castiel just looked so worn, sleeping,like some human. Sighing, Gabriel reached out, ruffling Castiel's hair as he'd done when the angel was just a fledgling.

As though by pure instinct, a hand came up to swat vaguely at him. The archangel heard Castiel, still asleep, suddenly grumble in protest, " _Gabriel_!"

For a second, Gabriel caught a glimpse of the fledgling he'd known and loved a lifetime ago, and he nearly crumpled under the searing pain. He inhaled sharply, taking a step back, then shifting out of visibility in the nick of time as Castiel suddenly shot awake. The angel's head whipped around as he almost unconsciously called out, "Gabriel?!"

But instead of frightened or even angry, Castiel sounded… hopeful. Almost pleading. Like he wished Gabriel really was there. The archangel, however, didn't move or even breathe to give away his presence, and he was warded against Castiel sensing him.

"Cas?!" Dean was already flying out of the bed, woken by the angel's voice. "Cas!"

"Wuzgoin'on?" Like a chain reaction, Sam was trying to jump up as well; disoriented by sleep, he crashed to the floor, scrambling to get back up. "Cas?!"

"Flashback?!" Dean demanded. "Cas, you with us?! Damn it, I thought those were under control now!"

Gabriel blinked, his pain overtaken by momentary bafflement instead. He watched with raised brow and questioning expression as Samsquatch suddenly grabbed a glass of water off his bedside table and inexplicably flung the contents straight in Castiel's face. Uh... even for humans, this was pretty weird behavior.

Unsurprisingly, Castiel did not look appreciative.

" _No_ ," the angel grumbled, dripping wet and wiping water from his face. "It  _wasn't_ a flashback."

"Oh… ah… my bad."

Castiel just gave Sam a rather peeved look, but quickly looked away, eyes searching the corners of the room. Gabriel had to restrain himself from reacting as his brother's gaze passed right over him without seeing. The Winchesters seemed to be sharing some sort of silent communication between them, before Dean finally turned back to Cas and hesitantly,

"So, what was it?"

"I thought- it felt like- I…" Castiel took one last hopeful look around the room before his shoulders sagged slightly and the light drained from his eyes. "Nothing," he muttered at the dirty carpet, sighing. "It was nothing. Sorry for waking you."

The Winchesters traded another look but seemed to accept this. Gabriel had already lost anythoughts of staying to chat, and now he was just kicking himself in irritation. What had he thoughthe was going to accomplish by coming here?! Glaring, the archangel silently stepped backwards, sliding right through the wall before he flew off in a flurry of wings.

He wished he'd neverseen Castiel in that damn TV channel. Of allthe angels, WHY had it had to be HIM!? Why had HE been the one to latch onto the Winchesters?! Why had HE shoved his way back into Gabriel's life!? Everything had been fine until he'd seen  _him_  again, and now Gabriel couldn't STOP the damn memories!

He'd  _run_. That accusation that Castiel had been looking at him with, Gabriel knew what it was. Gabriel had run, because he alwaysran; he'd left everyone to believe him dead. And the damn hopein Castiel's voice when he'd called Gabriel's name, like all he wanted was his big brotherto come back…

Gabriel's teeth were gritted as he flew, as far away from Castiel as he could get. His face was set in a ferocious glare, furious with the world, furious with his Father, and so furious with himself that he almost couldn't bear the weight of his own loathing. Gabriel's eyes burned, trying to erase the memory of Castiel's dejection.

_Nothing… it was nothing._

Yup, Gabriel was done.It was time to find a liquor store. Screw the Winchesters. Screwthe Apocalypse. Screw the helloutta his brothers. Gabriel didn't give a damn, not onesingle damn, about anything or anyone left in creation.

* * *

_Long ago_

At least Eleanor had forgiven him – but then, she'd always been quick to forgive. Gabriel doubted he could have held on if she'd continued to be angry with him. For now, she was stalling on making the "next" sigil for Michael, pointing out irately that she would  _have_ to go slow and careful in order to avoid Aaeon's fate.

Meanwhile, there was just morebad news pouring in.

"The Knights have joined the war."

Gabriel stared at Anna – he probably shouldn't, not with her wings out like this, but what she was saying was preposterous. The archangel caught Eleanor's eye worriedly as she closed her office door and approached Anna.

"May I?" she asked the warrior gently, gesturing to the torn, bleeding wings.

Anna nodded. "Please."

Carefully, respectfully, Eleanor set a hand on either of the warrior angel's wings. Her healing grace flooded into them, starting to repair the damage that had been done. Angels couldn't heal their own wings; only another angel could. Gabriel could have done it faster, but Anna had asked specifically for Eleanor – one of the few who everyonein Heaven just knew instinctively was trust-worthy.

"But… the whole "Knights of Hell" thing," Gabriel spoke up, now carefully averting his eyes from Anna's exposed wings. "I thought that was just a myth."

"Yeah, well, my wings say otherwise," Anna retorted, wincing slightly in pain. "One of them got a lucky shot just as I was moving between planes. It's them, I'm telling you. Eleanor… do you have anythingthat might work against them?"

"I'm sorry, Anna, I don't. I've never looked into it, because no one ever really believed they existed. You can't smite them?"

The angel shook her head with a downcast sigh. Her wings, brown and white banded like a falcon, were fully healed now and she stretched them out gratefully, then folded them neatly with a rustle. They disappeared into invisibility as Anna rolled her shoulders. "Thank you, Eleanor. No, I can't. They're stronger than normal demons. Our blades seem to hurt them but… it's just not enough to kill them."

"Why now?" Gabriel murmured, trading another look with Eleanor. "Luci's had all this time, and I thought these Knights or whatever were like… the  _first_ demons. Why wait til now, if they're real?"

"There's no "if", I'm telling you, they're real!" Anna sharply retorted, crossing her arms. Her eyes flashed. "And I don't know why they're only now emerging, but I know our warriors are in danger! Our grace isn't strong enough to stop them, and the archangels-"

Here, she broke off, eyes darting to Gabriel as she turned pale, as though just now remembering that Gabriel was an archangel, too… and speaking ill of them might mean severe punishment. Gabriel just rolled his eyes at her concern, as though  _he_ was going to disagree to anything she said.

"Chill out, Anna, I'm not gonna get you in trouble. You said  _your_  grace isn't strong enough to kill 'em... could Michael or Raphael, ya think?"

Anna sighed, rubbing her forehead with a look of defeat. "Maybe," she hedged. "I don't know. A concentrated attack from an archangel would probably do it, but we don't even know how many of them there are."

She looked up at Gabriel and Eleanor, weary and disheartened, as she solemnly murmured, "Either way, we're looking at a whole new war."

* * *

Knights. Great. Demons who could kill an angel, but not be killed. Well, wasn't thisjust fantastic. As much as Gabriel didn't want to side against Lucifer, his own brother, he had no problem at allsiding against these demon whack jobs - who were apparently  _real_.

It urged Gabriel harder than ever into trying to find a way to help, but there was a frustrating lack of things he could actually dowithout challenging Michael outright – which he still felt was only going to make things worse for Heaven. Making his siblings choosebetween him and Michael? Yeah, no way was he gonna do that.

But he also couldn't bring himself to work  _with_ Michael, because frankly his brother was doing things that went against everything Gabriel believed, such as the small matter of torturing his own followers until they were a bunch of cowed robots who actually believedthey had no free will at all.

Michael's whole "thou shalt not question me" had slowly but surely turned into something horrific, and Gabriel only saw one option left.

"Come on, Gabriel," the archangel muttered to himself, pacing an abandoned corridor. "This is nothing. You've faced  _Leviathans_ … you're a badass, scary archangel. You can do this tiny little thing. Think of Aaeon. Think of Castiel."

His favorite fledgling had finally been released from Naomi for the fourth time, and Gabriel had spoken to him before he was sent back to his garrison. Castiel had nearly snapped himself in two with how forcefully he came to attention at the sound of Gabriel's voice, and he hadn't had a clue that he'd been there for "correction".

It had been painful to watch the robot who had replaced his brother, but when Gabriel looked –  _really_ looked – it was  _all_ the angels. Every single one of them, with few exceptions, sporting this same mechanical "I live to obey" mentality. It was more than just distressing, it was frickin' creepy. Gabriel knew they were being tortured. He didn't know exactly what went on in Naomi's office, but it was torture for them. Castiel's aura had been flickering with the residual pulse of his own screams.

"It's just Dad," Gabriel reminded himself now, continuing his nervous pacing. "He's not gonna smite you just for coming in. You wanted to  _do_ something, so do it. Ellie, I gotta be honest, sugar, this is… heh, this is kinda scary."

There was a wave of warmth across his soul; Eleanor had heard or felt him, even from her office, and was sending comfort and courage, of which she had more than any other angel he'd ever met. How could she be so brave? Gabriel accepted that feeling of courage from the beautiful angel, squaring his shoulders. Right, he could do this.

It was the only idea he had. If Gabriel could just talkto his Father, point out what was going on, verify the orders were actually his, try to intercede on behalf of his siblings… But one did not simply  _walk into the Throne Room_. NO angel took that kind of liberty, no one approached the Throne unless they had been summoned. Not even Gabriel was cavalier enough to just waltz in like it was no big deal; he was justifiably terrified.

Exhaling slowly, Gabriel fixed his eyes on the door he'd been avoiding, then nervously tugged his robes straight. Okay. He could do this.

His hand reached out for the door, hesitated and drew back, then pushed resolutely inside for only the second time in his life.

The Throne Room was stiflingly quiet, except for a slight, rhythmic,  _clink_  that echoed like the ticking of some massive clock. Gabriel frowned, looking around the otherwise silent Hall warily, as the heavy door slid closed behind him with an obtrusive  _boom_. He cleared his throat, stepping forward until the High Throne itself came into view.

Then Gabriel came to a dead stop, his heart dropping.

"He's not here, Gabriel."

Michael didn't even look at him, continuing to clink his archangel blade dully against the marble armrest of the Throne he was slouched sideways in. One leg was cast carelessly over the opposite armrest, and the archangel was staring up at the ceiling. Why… why was Michael sittingin Dad'sthrone?!

"Uh… hey, bro. Where… where's…...?"

"God?" Michael supplied hollowly. Gabriel couldn't stop staring at him. The aura surrounding Michael, once a noble, princely silver, was slate grey like a cold stone. What had happenedto his brother? Everything about him was just… cold. Aloof. Uncaring.

…Empty.

He was so far from the brother Gabriel had once known that the archangel could barely recognize him, and that both pained and terrified him.

"Uh… yeah. What're you doing here?"

"Ruling.  _Someone_  should." Michael gestured vaguely around, the tapping blade never stopping.

Gabriel looked around the empty Throne Room, a knot in his throat. Ruling who? A crowd of terrified angels who would do anything he said just to avoid being punished?

"Okay, then," Gabriel replied with a shrug, trying to cover his building emotions. "I'll just, uh… cut to the chase. I wanna know why Dad's ordering our siblings to be punished. I wanna know why there's no more fledglings. I wanna know when he's gonna  _do_ something about all this."

"Well, then, Gabriel…" Michael went back to staring up at the high ceiling, shrugging one shoulder. "If you ever find him, you can ask him yourself."

"If- if I ever…?"

"Find him, yes. I imagine he's still out there somewhere, but of course, who really knows?"

Gabriel swallowed, feeling himself start to tremble slightly. This couldn't be happening. But denial, which had always served him so well in the past, just couldn't ignore the fact that Michael was sitting in God's seat without getting a royal smack-down for the audacity. "You… don't know where he is?"

In reply, Michael just started to laugh, and it occurred to Gabriel in one terrifying second that his brother probably hadn't been entirely stable in a long, long time. " _No one_  knows where he is."

No, no,  _no!_  Dad wouldn't just leave! Not now! Not with everything as it was! And yet...  _where were all the fledglings?_  "Metatron!" Gabriel gasped, hurrying closer to the Throne with a sickened look of terror in his eyes. "He saw Dad last, right? To take down the Word? Ask him! Someone has to know!"

"Metatron?" snorted Michael, the tapping blade halting briefly. "Don't you think I  _tried_ that? Don't you think I tried  _everything_?! Metatron's gone, too."

"But… all those orders… the things you're doing… you said, you said  _Dad_ ordered it!" Gabriel took another step forward, everything inside him coming undone. How long had he suspected this terrible truth to be real, but kept pushing it blindly aside? "You said  _Dad_ was the one giving the orders, that's why all the angels are following you!"

Michael's face shifted to one of derision as he snorted, "Yes, it's very effective."

"You-" Gabriel reached out shakily, sitting down on the gold patterned floor as his legs refused to hold him up any longer. He stared at the archangel on the Throne, no longer recognizable as his brother, in unmasked horror. "You've been  _torturing_ angels… our  _brothers_ , our sisters! Michael… Michael, you can't-"

"You will not contradict me, brother."

"No, stop it!" Gabriel shouted, teeth gritting. "How long has Dad been gone!? Have  _any_ of the orders been his?!  _Anything_ since he called us together, EONSago?! Michael, was  _ANY_ of it real?!"

"Go away, Gabriel. You wanted to stay out of this, therefore it doesn't concern you where the orders come from."

"Uh, it concerns the  _crap_ outta me! Michael…  _please_ , we can figure this out, we can still fix everything, we can stopall this. We'll tell the angels-"

"We'll tell them  _nothing!_ "

Gabriel didn't have time to fly or even move, before Michael was on him. The younger archangel gasped in surprise and pain as Michael grabbed him by the front of his robes, throwing him hard. Taken off guard, Gabriel fell back on the ground with a grunt, then froze as he felt Michael's foot fall heavily on his chest. An icy blade rested threateningly against his chin, and Gabriel stared up at a brother he no longer knew.

"We've been forsaken, Gabriel," Michael growled, his voice both fiery yet deadened. For a moment, Gabriel even thought he saw true emotion in his eyes, but then it was gone. "I did everything he wanted,  _everything!_  I was a good son, and he just abandonedus. Someone has to lead them. You will say  _nothing_ of Father's disappearance. I cast Lucifer out, Gabriel, and he was much stronger than you. I can destroy you, and anyone who tries to follow you, so you will  _obey_ me."

"Michael… what have you done?" His voice was little more than a whisper, heartbroken and defeated. Interceding to their Creator had been Gabriel's only play, and now… now it all seemed even more hopeless than it had before, if that was even possible.

Michael straightened, stepping off of Gabriel but not trying to help him up as he repeated in an empty voice, " _Someone_  had to lead them." The archangel turned his back, blade still clenched in his fist, as he growled, "Go away, Gabriel, while I'm still feeling merciful."

Gabriel ran for it, flying from the Throne Room with a desperate, bitter regret for having ever gone in there. Dad was gone… and as far as Gabriel knew, not one single order Michael had ever given was truly from their Father. He knew they were meant to protect humans, and he sadly knew that Lucifer  _had_ been ordered into a Cage, but beyond that, it was  _Michael's_ will they were following.

It had  _all_  been a lie.


	16. Highway to Hell

_"What are we gonna do?"_  Gabriel didn't even dare ask the question out loud, instead using his connection to Eleanor to speak directly to her. They were walking slowly through Heaven, while Gabriel's eyes darted every which way. Michael and Raphael had left to go join the fighting; now that there were Knights involved, every warrior that Heaven had was on the battlefield, except for Gabriel.

That didn't erase the danger of being overheard, though, and Gabriel was no longer taking any chances. There was no saying how far Michael would go anymore. If only he could shake the chilling image of the empty Throne Room, with Michael lazily staking his own claim on Dad's seat of rule.

Eleanor's hand squeezed his hard, her expression somber as she silently replied,  _"I wish I was surprised by this, Gabriel. The truth is… I suspected a long time ago. I just never could believe that our Father could condone whatever it is that Naomi's doing to our brothers and sisters."_

_"I don't think ANY of it was his. The last thing we KNOW to be true was protect the humans and put Luci in the cage, and that's the last time I heard him for myself."_

_"Yes, and you said that even that broke his heart?"_

_"He was miserable, yeah. I'll never forget how SAD he sounded to give the order."_

Eleanor nodded, squeezing his hand again as she sighed and shook her head.  _"Exactly. Even after Lucifer destroyed his creations, he could barely stand to order him locked away… but Castiel is brutally tortured just for trying to PROTECT humans, for showing mercy, without anyone blinking an eye? Balthazar's been beaten by his own commanding officers just for having questions? It's never felt right, Gabriel."_

The question still remained, though, what did they do now that they had proof the orders weren't from God?  _"If we tell them, it would throw Heaven into chaos,"_ Gabriel pointed out worriedly. He shook his head.  _"Luci would demolish ALL of them while they're running around like chickens with their heads cut off."_

 _"Can we really do NOTHING though? I understand your concern and I agree that Lucifer would take advantage of the confusion. I don't want to see any warrior of Heaven wounded or killed because of this. But at the same time, I_ _think…"_ Eleanor slowly finished, still speaking silently to Gabriel alone,  _"it's time we seriously considered exactly where we draw the line of what we allow them to do… because it seems clear now that they aren't going to draw one at all."_

Gabriel nodded, though his heart was heavy. Michael and Raphael had so far stopped at nothing, and he no longer believed that they ever would. Where could he draw the line, after which he really had no choice but to step in on his family's behalf?

Before they could discuss it any further, Gabriel suddenly stiffened and turned quickly around, only to see that it was Terriel he'd sensed hurrying towards them.

"Eleanor!" Terriel called. "Gabriel! Wait a moment!"

Eleanor turned towards him, her usual soft smile – wearier than it used to be, but no less nurturing – directed at her pupil. "Terriel," she greeted him kindly. "What is it?"

The lesser angel drew even with them, his expression somber but his eyes warm as ever. In response, he held out his hand, revealing the angel blade he carried – he had finally come of age, strong enough to produce a blade from the ether. Eleanor gasped quietly as she saw it, eyes quickly returning to Terriel's face.

"Oh, Terriel…"

Gabriel could tell that she didn't know how to feel about this, and he was in the same boat. At one point, this would have been Terriel's proudest moment, and he would have congratulated the kid. Now, though, what did it  _really_ mean besides serving a veritable Warlord, a life of blindly following orders? Could he really congratulate Terriel, or would it be more accurate to offer his condolences instead?

Not that serving was voluntary anymore… these days, presenting an angel blade and joining the battle was compulsory.

"Has Michael assigned you to a garrison?" Gabriel quickly asked, to which Terriel shook his head.

"That task has been delegated to Zachariah," he explained. "I've already presented my blade, but I wanted to come see you before I left, Eleanor."

"I'm glad you did," she assured him, though Gabriel felt her sadness at his leaving. "Where have you been stationed?"

Terriel's face fell ever so slightly. "Well," he replied slowly, "I  _had_ been hoping for Anna's garrison. That's where Castiel is. I'd hoped…"

The angel trailed off, but he didn't have to continue. Gabriel swelled slightly with pride; Castiel had become something of a legend, especially among the younger angels, one of the strongest warriors that Heaven had. Terriel wasn't the only rising warrior who'd hoped to serve alongside Castiel. Gabriel was proud of his favorite fledgling, though he suspected Castiel was vastly under-appreciated with the higher ups.

Giving himself a shake, Terriel finished, "But Zachariah seemed to believe Castiel would be a bad influence. I've been assigned guard duty in a prison on Earth. I'm about to go find my vessel now."

"A prison guard?" Gabriel cut in sharply, raising an eyebrow. "For angels?  _Heaven's_ angels?! So, what, you're gonna lock them up while they wait to be  _tortured_?"

Terriel had the decency to wince; Eleanor squeezed Gabriel's hand gently, as the archangel tried not to snap at the young angel. "I know it's not ideal," Terriel murmured, ducking his head slightly. "It- it's not what I was hoping for. But at least I know my brothers and sisters will be treated well under my care. And I don't really have…"

Again, he trailed off, but Gabriel could fill in the blanks: Terriel didn't really have a choice. If he refused the position, Zachariah would just punish him, send him to Naomi to be brainwashed or whatever exactly it was she did, and then he'd do the job anyway. And wasn't that just disgusting?

Eleanor stepped closer to Terriel, though, the sadness in her eyes hiding behind a gentle smile as she straightened Terriel's robes, settling her hands on his shoulders. He'd become tall and strong, and he had a noble bearing. He would have made a fine guardian for the humans. Gabriel could sense Eleanor's pride in him, as she assured the young warrior,

"I know that you will bring honor to any and every position you're given, Terriel. Remember everything I've taught you. Remember… you  _can_ choose your own path." She hesitated for a moment, then finished quietly, "But not the consequences it comes with."

"I'll remember," he assured her, tears glowing in his eyes. Gabriel watched him, arms crossed, as he added,

"Just be careful, kid. I'm tellin' ya right now, someday you might have to choose whether to follow orders… or do what's right."

It was a sobering thought, but Terriel seemed to take it seriously, giving Gabriel a somber nod. Eleanor smiled again, cupping her young student's cheek gently for a second, before nodding her approval. "Keep working on your sigils, Terriel. I'm so proud of you."

"Thank you, Eleanor," Terriel whispered back, choking up ever so slightly. "I'll remember everything you've taught me. And I'll come back to see you as soon as I can." He turned to Gabriel next, giving him a respectful nod.

"So long, kiddo," Gabriel said, giving him a short wave. "I'll pop in on you sometime. Be good, you hear?"

With one more nod, Terriel disappeared with a soft flapping of wings. Eleanor released a long sigh and shook her head. Gabriel knew she was sorry to see Terriel go, but even more sorry that he was to become a prison guard. If Dad were still here, he couldn't help but think bitterly, Terriel could have continued studying with Eleanor, sigils to help angels and the humans. He could have done what  _he_ wanted to do, instead of what was chosen for him.

"Oh!" Eleanor suddenly exclaimed, eyes widening in disappointment. "I should have sent my latest notes with him! I was looking into ways of mapping out energies for easier construction of the sigils."

"Hey, no worries, I'll take it to him," offered Gabriel, taking her hand once again as they turned back for her office. "Once he's had time to find his vessel and get settled in. You just leave it to me, sugar. Come show me where they are."

Eleanor nodded, both of them starting to meander their way back towards her office. It felt so empty in Heaven with all the soldiers gone, and no fledglings around to cause any ruckus. Only non-fighters such as Eleanor were there at the moment (aside from Naomi and her crew), and while it was certainly peaceful, it was almost stifling with how silent the place was. Gabriel hoped that they could wipe out these Knights in a hurry, finish this bloody war, and move on to happier times before he had to decide what to do about their missing Father.

But when had life ever been that easy? No sooner had they opened the door to Ellie's office, Gabriel quickly shoved her back behind him and spread his invisible wings in protection. "Oh, come  _on_!" he snarled, as Eleanor leaned around him to look into the office. She gasped quietly, hand flying to her mouth in alarm.

The place had been ransacked.

Gabriel's archangel blade was in hand instantly, but he didn't feel any other presence in there with them. He looked around the trashed office, shaking his head. "El, stay out here," he murmured, stepping inside. She followed him anyway, flying from one wall to the next, examining the torn parchments which had previously been tacked up neatly.

"I don't understand!" Eleanor protested, gathering up notes that had been strewn all across the floor. "What would they gain from this? Can you feel who it was? What could they hope to achieve by making such a mess?"

"Michael?" Gabriel whispered in question, but his brow was furrowed and he quickly shook his head. No… no, this hadn't been Michael. His blade disappeared again as soon as he was certain they were alone, but Ellie had asked a good question. What would  _anyone_ gain from this? "I dunno who it was, but it doesn't feel like another archangel's been in here," he assured her. "When I figure out who it was…"

"NO!" Eleanor suddenly cried out in dismay. Gabriel whipped around, blade already back in hand, but Eleanor was standing alone by her desk. She wavered, as though she might collapse, and Gabriel was instantly at her side.

"El?!"

She didn't reply, just pointed to yet another scrap of parchment on her desk. Gabriel wouldn't have noticed it among all the other scraps, but he picked it up now and read it with sinking heart.

_Eleanor – Lucifer thanks you for the assistance._

"My book…" she whispered haltingly. "My book is gone…"

Gabriel stared at her, shivering with a sudden chill that he couldn't shake. Everything was going numb again; had it been a rebel who'd gotten  _in_ … or had it been a traitor, who'd gotten  _out_? If Lucifer had all her notes…

"Gabriel, we  _have_ to get it back!" Tears were starting to leak down the angel's cheeks as she shook her head. "Lucifer is cunning, he's smart… he's  _dangerously_ smart. He can use my book to unlock the secrets of creating sigils, and he won't balk at creating ones to kill angels! He'll use them against  _our_ warriors, maybe even against humans, and it'll be my fault! I  _HAVE_ to get it back!"

"No!" Gabriel quickly retorted, grabbing Eleanor by the shoulders and eyeing her fiercely. "No, Eleanor, I'll go get your book, but I'm going alone. I told you once… you will  _never_ see Hell. Eleanor,  _please_ , you gotta promise me you'll stay here."

Eleanor looked like she was about to fall apart, clearly torn by the terrible decision she faced. Gabriel knew how much it pained her for him to go on so dangerous a mission, especially alone, but she was a realist. She hadto know that coming with him would only add a liability, and trying to track down anyone off the battlefield would waste precious time.

"El, you're not a soldier," he murmured, caressing her cheek gently. "You're strong, but you were never trained to fight."

"I would fight to defend you!" she whispered fiercely, and Gabriel smiled, eyes burning with tears.

"I know you would, sugar. But I don't want you to have to. And I'm not gonna be able to focus if I'm worried about you. Please, Ellie, you gotta stay here. Promise me you will."

There were tears on her cheeks now, as Eleanor haltingly whispered, "Only if you promise me you'll come back."

"Yeah, no worries," he agreed readily, trying to keep steady so that his own calm would help her to feel more at ease. "We promised each other, remember? We promised to not die. I'll be fine."

Eleanor clearly didn't like this, and Gabriel ached with her pain - what could be worse than being left behind to worry about him? But Gabriel knew there wasn't any other option, and so did she. She bowed her head, not saying anything for a moment as her grip on Gabriel tightened.

Then, suddenly, she looked back up at him with ferocity glittering in her eyes. "Wait," she said firmly, letting go and hurrying to her desk. "I have something that will help you. A way to keep you hidden."

"I can make myself invisible," Gabriel pointed out, but Eleanor shook her head.

"Even if Lucifer can't see you, he would still sense you there," she reminded him. "I can hide you from him. It wasn't easy, but I finally found a way to block someone from anyangel's senses, even Lucifer's. Come here."

"A sigil?" Gabriel asked in interest, but Eleanor shook her head.

"More like a spell, an Enochian spell. You'll be able to fly under the radar."

Gabriel smiled, nodding. "That's my beautiful genius. So how's that work, you just- OW!" The archangel jumped, taken by surprise at the sudden flash of pain. He blinked, staring down at the hand Eleanor had on his chest. "DAMN, that smarts! Don't bother warningme or anything!"

"I'm sorry," she murmured with a wince. "That's it, though, it's branded on you. You should be hidden now. I'll still be able to feel you, of course, through our connection, but Lucifer won't."

Again, Gabriel nodded, pulling her in close. "Thanks, babe."

Their foreheads rested against each other, heads bowed as they stood there in silence for a moment. Eleanor's wings brushed against his face, gently butting at him until Gabriel's own wings spread out to join hers. As they held each other, their wings caressed each other lightly, tenderly. Their manifested souls joined, entwining amongst the feathers, the tie that bound them together for eternity. Gabriel felt her, not only beneath his fingertips, not only beneath his wingtips, but as an actual part of him.

 _"Be careful, Gabriel,"_  Eleanor whispered silently between their joined soul.  _"If Lucifer catches you…"_

 _"I'll be okay,"_ he reassured her in the same manner.  _"I'll grab your book and then we'll find somewhere safe to hide it until this is over."_

She nodded against his forehead, her feathers sliding over his glossy primaries. Gabriel loved the sensation, shivering slightly in delight as she caressed him again with sweet devotion.  _"I love you, Gabriel."_

He smiled, reaching out suddenly to capture the edges of her wings in a gentle grip, bringing them up towards him as Gabriel kissed the pinions.  _"I love you, my queen among angels."_ With one last look shared between them, Gabriel stepped back. His wings disappeared again, then rustled faintly as he took flight into the ether, and from then into the void.

Invisible, the archangel raced through the crushing darkness, already longing for home. Distance wasn't usually a problem for him and Eleanor; he could feel her when he was on Earth, but the closer he got to the overwhelming evilof Hell, the more her sweet strength was blocked from his senses. By the time he reached the harsh, rocky aridness of Hell, he felt entirely alone.

Okay… time to find Luci, grab the book, and run as fast as he could. Gabriel closed his eyes, reaching out with his senses. Lucifer would be easy to feel, among the demons, lesser angels, and tormented souls that Gabriel could do nothing to save.

The last time he'd been to Hell, the place had been quiet; no human souls had been there yet, but now he could hear and feel the terror, the shrieks of tortured agony, the desperate prayers that came far too late. Gabriel shuddered. He just wanted to get out of here.

There… he could sense Lucifer, and Gabriel followed that feeling, creeping his way along. Invisible and shielded from the angels' feeling, he went unchallenged through the nightmare of Hell. It was smoky, full of ash, and he had to fight to keep from coughing and giving himself away as the fetid air pressed abominably in against him.

It figured that Lucifer would be in the deepest, darkest part of Hell – the farthest in, the longest journey. It was becoming hard to see, and the dark was oppressive. Gabriel didn't dare create any sort of light to help guide him, but he finally spotted his brother on a rocky outcropping, surrounded by a wide swath of utter blackness.

The fallen archangel was seated casually against a rock… in his hands was Eleanor's book, which he was perusing with obvious interest by the light of a blood red torch. Gabriel felt other angels around, the rebels who had sided against Heaven, but his only concern was that book that his elder brother was holding.

Gabriel didn't wait too long to try formulating a plan. Best to act nowbefore he lost his nerve. Taking a breath, Gabriel flew in with all the speed he could muster; he grabbed the book out of Lucifer's hands, jerking it away, and then instantly taking flight the way he'd come.

He was fast… but not fast enough.

Gabriel felt Lucifer catch his foot only in the nick of time, a firm grip on his ankle jerking him back down to the stony floor of Hell. He gasped in pain, unable to maintain his invisibility now that he was distracted. 

"I'm impressed, little brother," he heard Lucifer say quietly. "How did you sneak up on me?"

"Ah, you know me... I'm full of surprises," Gabriel retorted, trying to jump back up again. He had no interest in fighting, he only wanted to fly, as fast as he possibly could! Lucifer was already on top of him, though, a hand extended to thrust Gabriel back down. Gabriel grunted and strained to fight free, but Lucifer was too powerful.

"Strange… I don't even sense you now. Your Eleanor certainly has talent," Lucifer murmured, holding both hands out towards Gabriel and spreading his fingers. As he did, Gabriel's limbs were pulled out as well, leaving him trapped spread-eagle on the ground. The book was yanked from his hand, and Gabriel realized suddenly that Lucifer's six generals were standing over him as well, sneering in a menacing, ugly way.

Shit, shit, shit… this wasn't going according to plan!

"Hurry up," Lucifer grunted to his generals. "I won't be able to hold him for long."

"Let go!" snarled Gabriel, trying desperately to fight free. He twisted and squirmed, but Lucifer was holding on tight, and his limbs refused to move. Asmodeus was walking a quick circle around him, pouring something onto the ground. Gabriel lifted his head just enough to see with horror that it was holy oil, and his struggles intensified. "Hey, what're you doing? Get off of me! Don't make me open a can of whoop-ass on you!"

"Done," Asmodeus informed Lucifer, who nodded.

"Light it."

"No,  _don't_ light it!" But there was really nothing Gabriel could do to prevent the lesser angel from snapping his fingers, igniting the holy oil in a ring around Gabriel. Now he was truly trapped; he couldn't fly away, and Gabriel was far more frightened than he wanted to admit.

Glaring up at Lucifer as the fallen archangel strode calmly to the edge of the burning ring, Gabriel snarled, "Okay, you've had your fun, now let me up, Lucifer! Let go! I mean it,  _let go_!" He struggled again, trying to force back the panic, hatingthis vulnerable position. His hands and feet were held fast, though, and Lucifer was already shaking his head.

"I'm afraid not, little brother."

"My lord, perhaps we should stand him up, make him more visible," Belphegor murmured quietly. Gabriel just stared at him. 'My lord?' That was how Lucifer was having them address him these days? He and Michael were just two peas in the same corrupted pod, weren't they. Gabriel's eyes whipped back to Lucifer, who was nodding agreement.

A snap of Lucifer's fingers, and Gabriel found himself hoisted up and shoved backwards against a wide stone column that sprang up behind him in the center of the burning circle. Cords, chains, and thick strips of metal wound their way around the column, trapping the archangel's feet, stomach, and chest. His hands were pulled back around the column and fastened tightly together. Gabriel kept struggling like mad, but Lucifer's power made it a wasted effort.

"Luci,  _stop-_ mm!" Gabriel nearly choked as a thick rope shoved between his teeth, tying itself around his head and effectively gagging him. Panic swelled even higher; even if he got free of the restraints, how was he going to escape the ring of fire? He tried to catch Lucifer's eye, but his brother was merely regarding him with vague interest, and there was no mercy or concern to be seen.

Only once Gabriel was securely lashed to the post did Lucifer and the other six finally step aside. Beezlebub was smirking with delight as he suddenly shouted in a loud, victorious voice, "We have captured the archangel!"

Who the hell was he talking to-

-Oh. Gabriel's mouth went dry and his face paled as his silent question was answered. The darkness surrounding the rocky outcropping was coming to light all around him, torches and spurts of flame rising up to illuminate what was now revealed to be a large open chamber.

And it was filled with rebel, fallen angels, all now looking at him with hatred and derision as they cheered in half crazed triumph. Angel blades flashed and rose in the air in salute to their victory, a chilling, sickening vision that left Gabriel wide-eyed with disbelief.

The force of their hatred for him cut him to the soul, these brothers and sisters to whom he had done nothing. Their ravenous, insane eyes terrified him, and Gabriel re-doubled his efforts to escape, but he was truly helpless.

Beside him, Lucifer's icy, merciless face was slowly sliding into a sinister smile.


	17. With Fire and Fury

Gabriel swallowed hard against the rope gagging him, his eyes travelling over the mob in front of him. The angels were working themselves into a frenzy, goaded on by Beezlebub.

"They threw us out!" he bellowed, pointing at Gabriel in accusation. The angels roared in agreement, but Gabriel's face darkened into a stricken glare as he yelled back a muffled protest. Thrown them out?! The rebel angels had left on their own! "They thought they could controlus, to force us to obey them!"

"Never!" an angel yelled back from the crowd, the angel blades rising in the air again.

"They slanderedthe name of our lord!" Beezlebub went on, gesturing to Lucifer; the fallen archangel smiled, demurely holding up his hands as though he was the picture of modesty. Gabriel tugged hard on the restraints, hair standing on end as the angels roared their agreement again.

It had all become so twisted around, and Gabriel knew with a sinking heart that these angels were just as brainwashed as Heaven's. He didn't know which was worse… Heaven's robots, or these berserk attack dogs. Clearly  _both_ of his brothers had decided that brainwashing was easier than actual  _leading_.

"They cast us from our homes, but we will  _take it back_!" shouted the general, jerking his own angel blade free and turning to point it at Gabriel with a sneer. "And the archangels will pay."

"Kill him!"

"Down with the archangels!"

"Doesn't look so tough now, does he?! Finish him off!"

Again, Gabriel tried to shout back, leaning forward against the ropes as he tried to make his voice heard through the gag, to remind these angels that  _he_ had never wanted the split, he'd never wanted the war… They were his brothers and sisters, all he'd ever wanted was for them to come home.  _Michael_  hadn't even thrown them out, Lucifer had askedthem to leave, and they had, of their own free will! Why couldn't they see that!?

Beside him, Lucifer gave a light  _tsk_ , wagging his finger warningly at Gabriel; the archangel was slammed back into the pole, eyes closing briefly in pain as he tried to bite back a groan. The angels cheered.

"Burn him, Lucifer!"

Gabriel had no mask to cover up the level of betrayal he felt. He couldn't put on a brave face, couldn't post a smile, or a challenging look. He could only stare at Lucifer, the brother he'd once been closest to, with the pain of absolute betrayal in his eyes. Lucifer  _knew_ he hadn't ever chosen a side. Lucifer knewhe hadn't come to fight. And yet, the fallen archangel was proving that he had no problem hurting Gabriel if necessary, for his own ends.

Lucifer regarded him for a second, before stepping forward himself. Instantly, the entire crowd of angels fell into a hushed sort of reverence. "You see, my brothers… my sisters," he addressed them, a silver caress in his voice that sent a shudder down Gabriel's spine. There was poison in that voice, poison brought on by long eons of bitterness and hatred. "My archangel brethren are as fallible as any of us. You saw how easily he was brought down."

The angels laughed, and a surge of anger left Gabriel struggling against his bonds again, but Lucifer was still locking them down. Lucifer merely gave him an amused look, before turning to his army once again and finishing, "Go, my faithful ones. Bring down the rest. Today you will earn your victory and your freedom."

The angels were going berserk, and one tear escaped Gabriel's stubborn eyes as he watched the weapons clash in the air, worked up into a maddened frenzy. They were no longer angels. They were nothing but a  _mob_ , flying full speed for the battlefield, with murder in their hearts – murder instilled by Lucifer. The chamber was filled with the flapping of wings and the shouting of war cries, until soon only Lucifer and his six generals were left.

Lucifer smiled to himself, as Gabriel watched him with heart broken and torn. From the corner of his eye, he saw the other six regarding him ravenously, but Gabriel didn't care anymore. He slumped into the bonds that kept him tightly lashed to the column, feeling completely defeated. This was the second time they'd wanted to kill him, but he was just numb to it all.

"My lord," Mammon spoke up eagerly, gesturing to Gabriel. "If you're finished with this one, I thought perhaps  _I_ could be the one to-"

"That will be all," Lucifer cut over him, turning his back on the six dismissively. "Take your place with the army. This is the final battle – it ends today."

"But Gabriel is no more use to us, I could dispose of-"

Lucifer flew so fast that the flames surrounding Gabriel wavered, but didn't extinguish. The captive archangel watched in uncertainty as Lucifer grabbed Mammon by the scruff of his neck and shoved, sending him crashing to his knees.

"You," he whispered sibilantly into Mammon's ear as the other five took a hurried step back, "will not lay a hand on my brother.  _I_ dictate his fate, not you. Never…  _ever_ … question me again."

"Yes, my lord, my apologies," Mammon gasped out, wincing in obvious pain at the ferocity of Lucifer's grip. The archangel released him with a slight shove, and Mammon scrambled to his feet. The six shot one last loathing glare in Gabriel's direction before flying from the cavern, on their way to join the battle.

Now Gabriel and Lucifer were alone, and the imprisoned archangel felt the hold on him loosen slightly – though not enough for him to break free.

"I must apologize for all the theatrics," Lucifer informed him, perfectly at ease, as though none of these terrible things were happening. He was smiling, and it was far more sinister than it was apologetic. "They just needed a bit of a pep talk."

The rope gagging him disappeared, and Gabriel coughed, trying to get the disgusting taste out of his mouth. His eyes were no less betrayed as they slowly turned up towards Lucifer, who was standing at the edge of the flames, watching him.

"You… kidnapped me… to pump them up?" he demanded in disbelief. "Are you kidding me?! They wanted to  _kill_ me-"

"Gabriel, Gabriel," Lucifer interrupted with a snort. He waved his hand in dismissal, prowling around his brother, feline and dangerous. "Relax… I wouldn't have let them actually hurt you. I told you, I won't kill you unless you stand against me. So far, you haven't."

"So, what, are you expecting a thank you?!" Gabriel grumbled, rolling his eyes. "You know, you and Michael deserveeach other. Fine, you've had your stupid little pep rally, so, uh… how's about you untie me now?!"

Lucifer sighed. "You're angry."

"Well, give that angel a cookie! I'm  _pissed_ , genius!" It didn't seemlike Luci would actually kill him, even if he wouldn't hesitate to hurt him. Gabriel was furiousthat he'd been lured here just so that he could be put on displayas a way of encouraging the rebel angels, a trophyto pep them up. "And where're all your little demon pals?"

This time, Lucifer's snort was filled with derision. "The demons? What, seriously? Even if I ever let them see me, what good would they possibly be in a war against angels? They're useless against angels. They don't even know about our swords."

"They… they don't?"

Gabriel raised an eyebrow as Lucifer glared at him. "No!" the fallen archangel snapped. "Of course not. I would never give them the secret to how to kill my own brothers and sisters. The demons are loathsome, lower even than humans."

" _You_ created them!" For crying out loud, this was just ridiculous! Lucifer was smirking, like he'd done something so incredibly clever, but Gabriel was just irritated. He furtively tugged on the restraints again, but they were still holding too strong for him to break. Lucifer ignored his struggle.

"To prove a point to Father, that's all. I hate the abominations. As soon as I've won this war and restored ourrightful place in this Creation, I'll cleanse this place of thosefoul things as well." Lucifer's eyes narrowed as he seemed to catch Gabriel's expression of shock, and he shook his head. "What? I want nothing to do with them. In fact, none but the Knights even know for sure that I exist at all. By this time tomorrow, I'll be back in Heaven and the demons will be wiped out."

Every word Lucifer said was making Gabriel feel more and more uneasy. He didn't like how confident his brother sounded about his victory. Was there something more than just the battle that he was planning? Gabriel just wanted to go home, to be as close to Eleanor as he could be, and he struggled again.

"Look, bro, whatever you say. I've been minding my own business, I just came for the book. So if you'll just untie me and get rid of this stupid fire thingy, I'll just take it and skedaddle outta your hair. Whaddya say?"

"Ah… about that."

Gabriel felt another chill wash over him as Lucifer cocked his head and grimaced as though discomforted. "What about that?! Come on now, Luci, let me go! I'm not playing around!"

"Neither am I, little brother. I'm afraid you're going to have to stay here. It's for your own safety, I assure you. Thing is, using your capture as motivation for my warriors was really just a bonus. Sorry, Gabriel, but I had Eleanor's book brought to me because I knew it would get you out of Heaven, so it wouldn't make much sense for me to let you go flying back now."

Lucifer waved the book slightly before sighing and admitting, "Of course, it's going to take a while for me to really figure out how to turn this power into workable weapons."

"What do you mean, it would get me out of Heaven!?" Gabriel's panic was rising, and a new terror struck him. Far from fearing that Lucifer would kill him here in Hell, he wondered suddenly what was happening out  _there_ that he was being kept from. "Luci, what've you done?! UNTIE ME!"

"Fine, but your hands stay bound. Michael underestimates you, you know, but  _I_  don't… you're too slippery for me to trust, and I really can't have you escaping back to Heaven to stop it."

"Stop  _what_?! Luci… Luci, Ellie's still up there,  _please_ , just let me go!" He was still straining hard against the bonds when they suddenly disappeared along with the stone column, allowing Gabriel to stumble down to one knee. His hands were still lashed behind him, held by both the ropes and Lucifer's power, but all he could think of was Eleanor. "Please, what's happening out there?!"

With a sigh, Lucifer shrugged slightly and murmured, "I told you I'd return to Heaven someday. Michael thinks he has us on the run… but he's right where I want him. The Knights have drawn all the warriors out to the battlefields, far from Heaven. Well," he added nonchalantly, "all the Knights but one."

Gabriel felt a paralyzing terror flood his body, pinning him down more surely than Lucifer had. Heaven… one of the Knights was going to take Heaven… and all the warriors were gone.  _He_ had been the only defense left, the only one capable of stopping a Knight, and he'd jumped right into Lucifer's hands.

"A demon… a demon can't get into Heaven, not even a Knight," he whispered shakily, but Lucifer only smiled.

"Not without an angel to let them in," he agreed, wagging Eleanor's book. "And it's been sealed against all known rebels like me, of course. Fortunately, I was smart enough to leave one of mine in Heaven. So you see, Gabriel, I'm actually protecting you, keeping you out of the Knight's way. Even  _you_ wouldn't have sat on the fence while one of  _those_ was running around… so it was let you be killed, or lure you down here. I opted for the latter. You're welcome."

Lucifer glanced over at Gabriel's horrified face, then smirked. "Come now, Gabriel, don't look at me like that. I'm not going to kill everyone in Heaven. They're my  _family_. And I always give everyone a choice. Your Eleanor will be just fine… as long as she surrenders and accepts my rule, of course."

"Lucifer, I am  _begging_ you," Gabriel whispered, broken completely as he jumped to his feet and ran to the edge of the flame, meeting Lucifer's eyes desperately. "You can have me, do whatever you want, but let me go get Ellie out of there, and I'll come back here, I swear I will!"

The archangels regarded each other for a moment, one terrified, the other ice. Finally, Lucifer shrugged and turned his back, murmuring, "I'm sorry, brother. You're staying here until Heaven and all the angels are mine. Look, I don't want to restrain you more painfully, but I will if I have to, so you will  _calm down_." He smiled, a chill in his voice as he hissed, "It'll all be over soon."

* * *

_Present day_

"Nooooobooooody knoooooooows… the trouble I've seeeeeeen… Noooobooooody knooooows… my sorrow…." Gabriel drunkenly raised his bottle in a toast to the ceiling fan that was spinning lazy circles over his head, then downed the entire thing in one long chug. Shit. Now he needed another bottle.

Trying and failing to snap his fingers, Gabriel simply held out a hand to bring one of the many bottles from the nearby counter soaring over, and he popped the lid off with a slight hiccup. Three liquor stores. It took three liquor stores to get him drunk these days, but damn, he loved the nothingness it made him feel. No pain. No memories. Just a whole lot of nothing.

"So  _this_ is what happened to the great archangel Gabriel, is it?"

Gabriel didn't even flinch at the new voice, just raised his bottle high and laughed. "Casssstiel," he slurred as the lesser angel stormed around in front of the couch to glare at him. "What, y-you got a deathwish, kiddo?!"

"No." Castiel's eyes were flashing, his face stony and sincere. "But with the destruction you're leaving behind you, you weren't all that hard to find. And it's  _my_ turn to say some things."

"Oooo, get- gettin' on your high horse, huh?" Gabriel sneered, then hiccupped. "Go away, Castiel. I don't wanna hear it."

"Well, you're going to, Gabriel! You leftus. We thought you were  _dead_. We  _mourned_ you, Gabriel,  _I_ mourned you, and you've been here all along?!"

The righteous anger in Castiel's voice burned Gabriel, but not nearly as bad as the hurt accusation. It wasn't the overlying rage in his younger brother that ripped the archangel apart; it was the underlying question, the betrayed need to know why the archangel had abandoned them, and Gabriel had no answer to give.

"I said, go 'way."

"I'm not going anywhere," Castiel snapped. "You turned your backon us! We needed you, Gabriel! You were the onlyone who ever stood up for us in the ranks! You abandonedus, when you could have stoppedthis-"

"I couldn't stopjack shit, you infuriating little… pest," Gabriel retorted. Coming up with a better comeback was taking far too much work. "You know what,  _screw_ you for jackin' this all up for me. Everything was fineuntil youshowed up with Abbott and Costello."

Castiel glared at him suspiciously, before growling, "If that's some sort of reference to the Winchesters-"

"Wooo, quick one, you are." Gabriel lurched to his feet, trying to remember where he'd put that box of chocolates earlier. He was craving some sugar, desperately. In the flower pot maybe? The archangel dumped the brown dirt onto the floor, but there were no chocolates. Sigh. "Didja just come to make smart remarks or have your preciouspets screwed something up again?"

Castiel watched him, still glaring, still accusing, before answering, "I should give you fair warning, if you try and hurt the Winchesters again, Gabriel… you'll have to go through me."

Gabriel laughed, stumbling slightly as he shoved his way past his little brother. "Ohhh, I'm shaking. Big talk, I  _am_ an archangel, you know. Going through you would be a snap. No, seriously, like I could just snap my fingers and you'd be gone." Not that he was feeling coordinated enough for something as tricky as snapping fingers, at the moment. Wow, how many floors could one room have, and why were they all spinning? Gabriel wondered vaguely how many days in a row he'd been drunk this time.

"I know that," Castiel retorted. "But they're my family now, and I won't stand idly by and let anyonetry to hurt them. Not even you. They don't deserve this, Gabriel."

Well, he'd give Castiel this much: the angel did not back down. He'd never been very good at backing down, and if Gabriel had been in a better place, he would have admired his brother's guts.

"Oh, here we go again," Gabriel snorted. "Poor humans, blah blah blah, life's so unfair. Newsflash! Life's alwaysbeen unfair! They think it sucks now, they should try living with it for millions of years, 'stead of just thirty some! 'Sides, your two boys shoulda thought of that  _before_ springing Lucifer. Their issues? Ain't my problem!"

"Gabriel, listen," Castiel insisted from behind him. "The humans need you now. It was our job to protect them-"

"Yeah, and I  _did_ my job," Gabriel snarled, spinning back around and grabbing Castiel by the front of his coat. "I didprotect humanity, and you know what, Castiel? It cost too… damn… much. So I don't give a  _damn_ about the humans." Gabriel's fists tightened in Castiel's trench coat as he slammed him back into the wall hard enough for the plaster to crack. His eyes narrowed, jaw tightening, as he coldly ground out, "And I don't give a damn about  _you_."

He released the angel, spinning around and moving away. He was shaking, unable to contain all the emotions that he'd been trying to keep hidden for thousands of years now. There was silence behind him, and he hoped that Castiel had taken the hint to just go.

Instead, after a moment, a simple statement. "I don't believe you."

"Believe it, kiddo," Gabriel laughed harshly. "I don't care about anyone anymore."

"If you didn't give a damn, then why didn't you just kill me?" Castiel pressed. "Back in your pocket dimension. You said yourself it'd be the easiest solution, and you knew you were too strong for me to escape. But you still let me go."

Drawing his blade, Gabriel slowly turned around with a menacing glower. "You askin' me to change my mind?"

"I remember that day, you know," Castiel murmured, as reckless and bold as the angel Gabriel remembered from before Naomi. "I remember what happened, before you 'died'. And I understand now. I know why you left."

Gabriel froze, hackles rising, as he snarled, "Don't." This was pushing into the domain of memories he kept buried at all costs, memories that would neversee the light of day. But Castiel pushed on.

"I know what sent you over the edge. But we need you now. Theystill need you, the humans."

"What part of "I don't care" isn't making it through your big, thick skull?!"

"I knew her, Gabriel, and this isn't what she would have want-'

"I said,  _DON'T!"_ He was on top of Castiel in seconds, shoving the angel back against the wall once more, his blade slamming into the wall beside his brother's head. Gabriel's eyes lit with enraged insanity, too drunk to control himself but not nearly drunk enough to forget. "Don't you  _dare_! You say her name, Castiel, and I swear to God I will killyou!"

* * *

In the depths of Hell, Gabriel was barely clinging to sanity. Spinning around, looking up, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "ELLIE! ELEANOR! ELLIE, RUN!" But there was so much distance between them, and the evil of Hell choked out communication. Gabriel was out of his mind with fear, though, continuing to shout and pray with all his might, desperately willing his voice to pass across their joined soul to warn her in time. "EL, GET OUTTA THERE!  _ELLIE_!"

"Gabriel, don'tmake me hurt you!" Lucifer snarled, dropping the book and approaching the fiery ring again with fists clenched. "Calm down… I said  _calm DOWN_!"

Gabriel felt something force him down to his knees, an enormous pressure that was trying to pin him to the floor. He was weakened by his distance from Heaven and the hold Lucifer already had on him, and it was hard to fight without the use of his hands - but Lucifer had been right to not underestimate him. His power was multiplied a thousand fold by a dark and terrible fear for the one he loved, his soul mate, and he fought Lucifer's power like a madman.

"ELLIE!"

Lucifer cursed, drawing his archangel blade, but Gabriel suddenly froze as he feltsomething deep inside… and then he screamed. His full, unleashed voice ripped through the caverns of Hell even as he felt himself being ripped apart, feeling part of his very soulburst into a million pieces – the pieces scattered like star dust and then disappeared, and if part of his soul was gone, that could only mean one thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry... :(


	18. The Queen

Gabriel lost his mind.

He screamed, and he screamed, and he screamed. Hell itself was trembling from the force of his power, crumbling as his full angelic voice shattered stone and shook the ground. There was no stopping him, one of the most powerful beings alive, as he ripped Hell to pieces.

Lucifer cursed again, stumbling back as the floor of Hell tipped him away from Gabriel; enormous chunks of rock were crashing to the ground from high overhead. One boulder slammed down beside Gabriel, and the cavern floor split – the fiery ring was broken, and Gabriel was on his feet in seconds. His invisible wings flared out, free at last, and the furious archangel tore through the cords binding his hands like they were made of putty.

"You're too late, Gabriel!" Lucifer shouted over the noise of his kingdom literally falling down around him. "Heaven and all the angels are mine!"

Gabriel paid him absolutely no attention, as he flew, Eleanor's book flying into his hand as he went. Stealth was abandoned, and any demon unfortunate enough to be in his path was incinerated with merely a thought. Faster, harder than he'd ever flown before, the archangel surged through time and space, racing home with despair and devastation already filling his heart.

But he was too late - and he knew it. He'd known it from the moment part of his soul was torn from his very being.

Heaven was filled with dusty clouds that swirled softly and silently through the air, leaving a ghostly pallor over the normally bright Halls. There were quiet sobs from angels in all corners, but there was no sign of the Knight, and no one was moving. No one but Gabriel, as he drifted, zombie-like, across the floor.

"Gabe-el…"

The archangel didn't even turn as a tiny body toddled towards him, grabbing his robes and tugging earnestly. A heartbroken little voice cried, "Gabe-el… Gabe-el, El-nor killed bad guy. I want El-nor, Gabe-el!"

"Samandriel…" Gabriel whispered, coming to a halt. "Did you  _see_?"

There was a little sniffle. "Uh huh. El-nor killed bad guy."

He had to know. He had to see what had happened. Reaching out, Gabriel pressed two fingers to Samandriel's forehead, and closed his eyes as the images began to flow.

_"Stand down, angel." The Knight stood boldly before Eleanor, his eyes jet black and a cruel smile on his terribly misshapen face. They were in the peaceful nook; Eleanor stood in front of Samandriel protectively, the fledgling clinging to her robes._

_"Who are you?" Eleanor asked evenly, though Gabriel could see the tell-tale signs that she was hiding her fear._

_The Knight laughed, advancing on her. Eleanor merely turned so that she was still shielding Samandriel, not breaking eye contact with the intruder. "I'm your worst nightmare," he hissed; Eleanor didn't react._

_"How are you here? Who let you in?"_

_"I did!" From Samandriel's point of view, Gabriel saw another angel, Ezra, standing in the doorway looking triumphant. "Michael has ruled for far too long! Long live Lucifer! I will be one of his most trusted lieutenants, I'll be given power and respect! This day was LONG in coming."_

_Eleanor didn't say anything, but Gabriel felt her sense of betrayal. They had trusted Ezra, and he had sold them to Hell for a scant amount of personal power. Finally, she murmured darkly, "I hope Father has mercy on you, Ezra… because Gabriel will not."_

_Ezra only laughed, a dark, ugly sound. "You think I fear THAT buffoon?"_

_"You SHOULD, Ezra, or you're a fool."_

_"Enough talk!" the Knight snarled, raising a wicked looking blade. "You, angel! Down on your knees and surrender. You will submit to Lucifer's command."_

_"And then?" she coolly asked, chin high. "What happens? What will you do here?"_

_The Knight was almost giddy with excitement, its smile stretched far too wide on its twisted, mangled face. It laughed hideously, then answered, "I will subjugate every angel and cut down those who refuse to surrender. I will tear down the seals that keep Lucifer and his army from Heaven. And then… then I will purge every human soul that lives here and send them straight down to Hell. This war will end and Lucifer will be the victor!"_

_"I see." There was a pause, but Eleanor didn't kneel. Then: "Samandriel… run, darling. No matter what you hear, stay out of this room."_

_The Knight just sneered. "That won't save him, I'll find him later," he taunted. "There's nothing lovelier than infant blood, but I've never tried fledgling before."_

_"Go on, darling. Everything's going to be alright."_

_Gabriel could only see things through Samandriel's eyes, watching as the fledgling hurried to the far doorway opposite the monster and the traitor, then stopped. The little angel must have peeped around so he could keep watching, too terrified to go very far by himself._

_"I take it you refuse to yield?" the Knight asked, sounding delighted, full of anticipation. "Kneel to me, angel!"_

_From Samandriel's vantage point, both the fledgling and the archangel watched as Eleanor – pale and trembling, but strong – shook her head. "Angels only kneel to God," she murmured, holding her head up with contemptuous pride. "Not to other angels, and certainly not to you. You will not have one SINGLE human soul who's under our protection and you will not win Heaven for Lucifer. In fact… the only thing you will do here… is die."_

_"Oh, you're going to stop me?" the demon asked in ridicule. Its head tipped back and it laughed, long and loud and mocking. "Even your warriors couldn't kill us, and you're no warrior. You're just a pawn… and I'm a Knight."_

_"No. You've got it all wrong," Eleanor retorted in a voice that sounded cool and calm, but held so much emotion that Gabriel could barely breathe. He watched the scene play out, as Eleanor took a step forward, hand reaching to her chest for something hanging in her robes. "You see, you're just a Knight… and I'm a queen."_

_The Knight glared at her suspiciously, snapping, "What're you talking about?!"_

_Gabriel's heart stopped beating the moment he watched, through Samandriel's eyes, as Eleanor pulled out the jewel he'd given her. His grace was swirling inside, glowing more and more brilliant until Gabriel had to raise a hand to shield his eyes against the blinding light of his own power._

_There were marks on Eleanor's chest, a sigil that he'd never seen before. Ezra turned and ran, but the Knight howled in fury, rushing forward… but it was too late._

_There was an eternity of absolute silence as Gabriel jumped to his feet, mouth stretched open in a silent scream as he reached for his soul mate._

_And in the utter silence, he heard her voice, little more than a whisper._

_"Gabriel… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"_

_Eleanor slammed the jewel pendant into her own chest, the sharp rock piercing her skin and the sigil she had drawn. The explosion was amplified a million fold by the powerful archangel grace, a destructive force that annihilated everything in its path… including the Knight._

_Ash fell._

_Eleanor was gone._

* * *

"You think  _this_ is honoring her memory?" Castiel challenged him, grabbing Gabriel's jacket, trying to push the stronger angel off of him. "Shutting everything away, running from us? You can't even say her  _name-_ "

"SHUT… your… MOUTH!"

Gabriel was seeing red, throwing Castiel away from him hard, not caring as his younger brother crashed into the glass coffee table and shattered it. Instead, he stormed back towards the counter where he'd left the liquor, reaching out his hand.

The bottles promptly exploded, showering him with glass and wine. Gabriel swore violently, dabbing at his face with his drenched shirt tail. Damn it, now he couldn't even drink! Of all times to lose control! He spun on Castiel, who held up his hands.

"I… didn't do that."

"I know! I did! Cause I got madskills like that! But you know what I  _couldn't_ do, Castiel?! I couldn't stop Lucifer! I couldn't stop Michael and Raphael, and I couldn't bring her back!"

Castiel looked around, backing up as Gabriel strode heavily towards him again, but the archangel was relentless. "You know who  _did_ come back? YOU! Yeah, I know all about that! How, Castiel?" Gabriel shouted, using his grace to fling his brother away from him, across the room into the opposite wall. He heard the sharp grunt of pain as Castiel was slammed down to the floor, and then the archangel released him.

He stormed forwards, bearing down on Castiel and standing over him as he shouted in agony, "A lot of angels lost their lives, why were you the only one brought back?"

"I don't… I don't know," Castiel admitted, painfully pushing himself up to his hands and knees before sitting back against the wall hard, clutching his ribs. "I think… God still had… work for me-"

"Oh, you were needed?!" Gabriel raised the angel blade; Castiel lifted a hand to ward him off, but the archangel had no intention of killing his own brother. Instead, he spun and stared up at the ceiling, and far beyond it. "And she  _wasn't?"_  he bellowed, an undying pain filling his eyes as he brandished the weapon uselessly. "You can bring angels back, but not her? SHE was needed, too, I NEEDED HER! You son of a bitch, _WHY?"_

Overcome, Gabriel collapsed to his knees, then sank back onto his heels. His hands fell uselessly in his lap, head dropping as tears dripped down his face, for the first time in centuries. "I- I needed… I l-loved h-her… Please, just bring her back… Oh God, Ellie… please just-just give her back…"

* * *

Gabriel had no power to bring Eleanor back. A human soul could be stuffed back into a repaired body… not so with angels. What happened to angels when they died? It was a mystery they would never have an answer to.

It was time to end this.

Getting back to his feet, Gabriel's hands slowly began to clench into fists. His face turned dark, and then darker, as all of Heaven began to grow as stormy as his own heart. A deep and terrible rage filled the archangel, like nothing he had ever known, as he turned back towards the Halls. Angels were still pressed down, not sure if the coast was clear yet. Several of them called to him, wanting to know what was happening, but the archangel kept walking.

There was only one angel he wanted to find now, and Gabriel's eyes were swift and merciless. Ezra was crouched down in a quivering pile in a room adorned in gilded statues and velvet chairs, but his treacherous heart had  _no_ place among such beauty. He looked up as Gabriel came storming in, and he instantly crawled towards the archangel.

"Gabriel!" he cried, hands outstretched in supplication. "Gabriel, there's a monster-"

"Actually," Gabriel interrupted, his voice colder than even Lucifer's, "there's only one monster left."

Ezra paused, suddenly wary by the archangel's tone, but he recovered quickly. "Where? Where is it, Gabriel? We have to stop it!"

"Ooh… I plan to." He reached out, gripping Ezra harshly by the front of his robes, before jerking him up and slamming him hard against the wall. An ornate, framed picture fell to the floor with a crash, and Ezra cried out in fear.

"Gabriel! What… what are you talking about?"

" _I know what you did_ ," he hissed as his grip tightened. "And Ellie was right."

"...What?"

Gabriel leaned in close, his expression thunder. "You were a fool not to fear me."

The golden chandeliers exploded, the statues crashing down to the floor as Ezra was thrown away from Gabriel. The archangel advanced, slow and steady, with a face like a nightmare. Ezra scrambled back on all fours; Gabriel was one of Heaven's most terrifying weapons. "No! Please! Please, Gabriel, I- I can explain! Lucifer forcedme-"

"Ohhh, no no no, let me guess," Gabriel hissed through clenched teeth, a hand slashing out to rip the red carpet Ezra was retreating on, forcing the lesser angel backwards. "You-" another slash, each word punctuated by another strike, "-were… just… following… ORDERS!"

Michael himself would have stepped back from Gabriel, had he been able to see his brother's face in that moment, but Ezra had nowhere to run. The lesser angel was sobbing, one hand held up pleadingly, as he begged for mercy that would not be shown. "Please,  _please_ , don't kill me, Gabriel! I'm sorry! I'm  _sorry_!"

Gabriel didn't even reply; he was done talking. He loomed ever closer, grabbing Ezra as he passed and dragging him along. No… no, he wouldn't kill the traitor. Gabriel had never killed another angel, and death was too merciful for this one, the one who had avidly,  _eagerly_ betrayed Eleanor to her death. No, his imagination could contrive a far more suitable fate.

The raging archangel never broke stride nor looked at the lesser angel in his grip as he shifted through the planes, his grace spilling out and weaving a dimension of his own. Any angel could shift perceptions of reality, but Gabriel wasn't just any angel; he was doing something else entirely, something unheard of. He moved between planes, spiraling grace pressing outwards against the ether and the plane of Heaven, expanding and twisting itself into existence by his will alone.

"Gabriel… Gabriel, please!" Ezra screamed, trying to fight free, as though he had a prayer of escaping Gabriel. "Please, I'll do anything!"

The air shimmered, then solidified; the two angels were now standing in a completely new dimension, the smallest of them all; it was little more than a closet, a pocket dimension of Gabriel's sole creation. Ezra twisted his head this way and that, staring at the new surroundings in terror.

A heavy hand slammed into Ezra's chest, branding him with the same Enochian signs that Ellie had used on him. "So no one will ever find you," Gabriel hissed. He put a hand to Ezra's head, the lesser angel howling in pain as a burning hand obliterated his connection to other angels, silencing all communication. "So no one will ever hearyou." The archangel threw Ezra harshly down, his face still burning with wrath.

"No! No, please! PLEASE!"

"Because of you, I'm alone," Gabriel snarled, as Ezra held his hands out to the sides and turned, his fingertips brushing all four cold stone walls that surrounded him. "Your master will spend his life in a cage… so you can share both our fates."

"GABRIEL! PLEASE!"

"In fact… it's kinda poetic," Gabriel hissed, leaning in closer. Tears ran down Ezra's face as his frantic eyes turned from his stone prison to the archangel. Gabriel's face peeled into a terrifying sneer, dark and dangerous. "Don't you think?"

He shifted back into the ether, without Ezra. Only he could pass the borders of his own dimension; Ezra was trapped there forever, and no angel would ever even sense he was there. He would be unable to hear other angels, and they would be unable to hear him. Ezra could stay in his own private hell for the rest of time, alone, until he was driven as mad as Gabriel felt.

The traitor was taken care of, and he could rot in there for all Gabriel cared, but now the tears were starting to flow thick and heavy, and his heart was a lead weight in his chest. Rage abandoned him, leaving utter agony in its place. Gabriel had failedher. He'd failedEleanor, and he flew straight to her office in Heaven as the silent sobs began to wrack his body. Here, surrounded by her things, surrounded by the presence that her residual aura had left in the room from countless years, Gabriel collapsed and wept.

"Ellie..." he sobbed, pulling in a stack of scrolls towards his chest just so he could cradle them against him, as though it even came close to comforting him. "I-I'm so... so sorry..." Gabriel's wings burst into visibility, straining around the room with broken desperation... as though he could catch some last remaining sense of her presence, her touch on his wings... but he would never feel her sweet, soft feathers against his ever again. "Ellie,  _please_... you promised... you promised me, we PROMISED each other!"

It was his fault. All of it. He had left Heaven unguarded; he had failed to see the bait for what it truly was. No, the blame went back far longer than that. If he had listened to Eleanor, if he had asked more questions, stepped in sooner... perhaps none of this would have ever happened. If he had stood up to Michael more firmly, told him he wasn'tgoing to allow these things... if he had ever drawn a line. If he had protected his home, and not just turned a blind eye to what it was becoming...

Outside, Heaven mourned Eleanor. The song of grief was carried throughout the corridors, the Halls, but the archangel couldn't join, couldn't even leave the office. Did they even know, those angels out there? Did they even know what she had saved them from, how close they'd been to losing everything? Did they even know that she'd single-handedly saved all of Heaven with her sacrifice?

Gabriel didn't even know how long he sat there, surrounded by all he had left of Eleanor. The passing of time held little interest for him; he was an eternal being, but  _she_ had been his eternity, and now he saw immortality as nothing but a curse, a doom to spend his existence alone. What difference did it make if he had spent days in here, or merely minutes?

However long it was, Heaven seemed to be operational again, and Gabriel heard Raphael's furious shouts from outside in the Hall.

Clearly, the other archangels had been informed of the incident.

And then, almost as suddenly, the shouting stopped, and silence resumed; Raphael returning to battle. Gabriel straightened. The best angel among them had just been killed... and things would just go back to how they'd always been, and nothing changed?

...No.

No, that was it, he was done. Gabriel was just done. He flew, invisible, all through Heaven, opening his eyes to the truth for the first time, everything he had refused to look too closely at before. The dungeon, for instance; Gabriel descended to the depths, looking in on Gadreel for the first time in hundreds of years.

"Thaddeus… please, no more, I… I can't… please, stop."

The angel was a bloody mess, chained to the floor as another angel stood over him with an expression of glee.

"Stop?" he chuckled. "Sorry, chump. It's my job, you see… back to business. I'm just following orders. Besides… it's  _fun_." The angel slashed out with his sword, piercing Gadreel's shoulder as the prisoner cried out brokenly.

"I'm sorry! I never meant… to let… him in…"

"Thaddeus, give him a break, for pity's sake!" a tear-streaked, equally bloody and beaten angel cried out from a nearby cell. "Please, he's had enough!"

"Oh, wait your turn, Abner," Thaddeus jauntily advised, before slamming a booted foot into Gadreel's stomach so that he cried out again.

"Father! Father,  _please_! I'm… I'm so sorry… Father,  _forgive me!_ "

But Gadreel's Father wouldn't be intervening. Gabriel watched, and his heart grew darker. He'd never thought to come down here, never thought to make sure the angel prisoners were being treated with dignity. No, Thaddeus was just "following orders", Michael's orders, and there was no sense of justice or honor to any of it. One innocent mistake, and Gadreel was tortured for eternity - calling out for a Father who wasn't even listening. Ellie was  _dead_ , a monster had just been in Heaven... and now Thaddeus was right back to having his "fun".

Gabriel had thought Hell was bad, but that had been before he realized that the only real difference was the smell.

Gabriel flew off, still invisible, sliding through the walls of Naomi's office – the one room he'd never gone into, because he didn't  _really_ want to know what was happening. Naomi, just like Thaddeus, had apparently decided that not even the death of the kindest, sweetest angel ever, the presence of a DEMON in Heaven, was going to stop her from going about her sickening work.

Balthazar was strapped into a chair, metal cuffs restraining him as he looked up at Naomi in fear. "Please… don't make me do this…"

"This will go much faster if you cooperate, Balthazar," Naomi advised him, leaning in with what looked like some kind of drill. With an all too experienced hand, she drove it straight through the corner of Balthazar's eye, while he screamed in pain and fear.

Everything shifted. It wasn't real, Gabriel had enough experiences with visions to recognize that, with one cold look. It was a vision for Balthazar, and the lesser angel was now standing with blade in hand… standing over Castiel.

"Brother, what are you doing?" vision-Castiel asked, sounding upset. "Help me, Balthazar!"

"Kill him," Naomi coldly ordered, as Balthazar tried to stumble away.

"I… but he's my brother... my friend! He hasn't doneanything-"

"You have no friends, only orders! Follow them! We have to know you would obey even this without question, if it became necessary! Kill him, Balthazar! Kill him!"

Vision-Castiel tried to reach for Balthazar, expression pleading. "Help me," he whispered. Balthazar gazed down at him, whispering in reply,

"I'm sorry…"

The blade plunged down, and Castiel erupted with grace, falling dead at Balthazar's feet, while Naomi looked delighted. "Good! We'll do it again, until there's no hesitation."

Gabriel flew. So this was the truth. This was how the angels were becoming mindless drones, the cruelty of what they endured. Naomi and Michael weren't just breaking the angels, they were breaking the bonds between them. Balthazar and Castiel had grown up together, as close of friends as brothers could be, and Naomi wouldn't be satisfied until Balthazar would willingly kill Castiel on command if ordered.

Because, all along, this family had meant nothing to Michael at all, as it meant nothing to Lucifer.

That was the truth that Gabriel had refused to see: Heaven was no longer a family, it was nothing but one big, ugly, corrupt Nightmare realm, filled with greedy, power-hungry angels who would inflict their will on those beneath them and call it nobility. THIS was what they fought for? This was what his happy, childhood home had been allowed to become? Slowly, insidiously, under his very nose, because he'd continued to look the other way?

The nurseries were dark and dank, filled with emptiness that would never be replaced. Only God could create a fledgling, and he'd abandoned them.

And then... Gabriel finally came to the once idyllic nook where he'd first found Eleanor to begin with. It was empty and silent, scarred forever by the marks of her wings. There wasn't even a body for him to hold onto, to say goodbye; she'd been blown apart, to save Heaven. Gabriel stumbled back into the wall, sliding down like a dead man, as his hollow eyes stared at the sigil on the ground - the  _first_ sigil. The very thing that had first attracted him to Ellie, the purest symbol of who she was.

The ground was cracked, and the sigil was broken. The stars and their unimaginably glorious song had been silenced along with the angel who had made them possible to hear. And that... that was what finally did it, the last straw that made up Gabriel's mind.

Heaven was no longer home; Ellie had been his home, and she was gone.

And so was he.

There was only one more place to go, and Gabriel flew, cold and empty, feeling nothing and caring for nothing. Away from Heaven, racing through the ether, crossing to the battlefields that he'd avoided at all costs. The war was raging, angel fighting angel, deadly and brutal and pointless.

This whole war, and the lives it took, had been for nothing. They didn't care about keeping the peace; they didn't care about being noble, righteous beings; they didn't care about each other. All of it, every single bit, had been utterly meaningless. Gabriel wanted nothing to do with it… or Heaven, or Hell, or the humans who had started it all, or the angels who'd been brainwashed - and  _certainly_ not the archangels who had orchestrated the entire thing in the pursuit of power that they thought they deserved.

One snap of his fingers, and he'd disappeared. In the center of the battlefield, a projection of him blinked into being, between the two armies. To all who saw him, it would appear that he was fighting alongside his brothers. To any who watched, it would appear that he was cut down by a Knight of Hell. His "body" would be found surrounded by the scorched grasses in the shape of magnificent wings, and the angels would mourn.

But he would see none of that. Gabriel's heart burned away along with his false wings, as he hovered invisibly above the image of himself dead on the battlefield. He was numb.

Turning, the archangel did what he did best: he walked away. Away from the angels, away from the war, away from Heaven.

He never looked back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise guys, this isn't the end!! ;) There's still four chapters to turn everything around...


	19. Masquerading as a Man With a Reason

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is in the same AU as two of my other stories, Where They Don't Belong and The One You Feed. The scene in this chapter is largely discussing events that happened in those, but I've tried to write this so that Castiel will explain the gist of what you need to know, but for anyone who wonders, that's where it's coming from. :)
> 
> **warnings** If you're in a time and place in your life where it's too difficult to read about someone being abused, please feel free to skip Gabriel and Castiel's conversation. There's NOTHING EXPLICIT, only implications.

For ten years solid after running from Heaven, Gabriel did nothing but drink, until he'd successfully erased as much of his memory of Heaven and  _her_ as he possibly could. Gabriel didn't want to think of her... it hurt too deeply, living with only half of himself. Instead, he sank into the beautiful numbness of a drunken stupor, surrounded by fetid squalor and filth.

If he'd been human, he would have been dead, of course. Gabriel didn't care much, as he could keep his vessel's failing liver alive for the rest of eternity if needed (not that the humans were anywhere close to knowing the effect of alcohol on a liver yet). It felt delicious, to have absolutely no concerns, no obligations, no  _orders_. He could just forget, and that was all Gabriel truly wanted.

After ten years, though, it seemed that some part of his subconscious had had enough. Gabriel groaned as he tipped his empty goblet upside down, staring up inside of it as though he might find some more ale hiding in defiance of gravity.

Nothing.

Damn.

No sooner had he stretched out his arm to drag the cask closer to refill his goblet, though, the wooden barrel exploded sharply, as though it had been shot.

"Whoa!" Gabriel cried. His reaction time was greatly dulled, and he stared at the splinters before registering he'd accidentally destroyed the thing. "Well, damn." He stretched his hand towards another nearby firkin; it blew up with even more force than the first, and Gabriel fell off the low bed he'd been lying on. "Aw come on,what the hell?" he groaned.

Every now and then, his grace went out of control like this, and it was a seriousinconvenience. This would mean actually standing upand  _walking_  to get more of the numbing alcohol. Muttering darkly under his breath, Gabriel stumbled to his feet and nearly fell over again.

"Okay... Here we go," he muttered to himself encouragingly, grabbing the wall for support. The archangel snagged the goblet he'd been drinking from, then tottered over to another row of barrels that he kept in constant supply. "Come to daddy..." No sooner had he reached out to unstop one, though, the blasted thing literally exploded in his face.

Gabriel shouted in frustrated surprise, arms instinctively coming to shield his face – and then, one by one, every single solitary container of alcohol in the dirty hut was blown to pieces, all down the row. "Damnit!" Gabriel shouted, staring at his unsteady hands. He hadn't even usedhis grace... he hadn't thought... how was he doing this?

Perfectly good ale, allover the floor, and now what was he supposed to get drunk on!? Gabriel grumbled to himself uselessly for a moment, then slid down to sit wearily down on the floor instead.

Maybe it was a sign, he thought blearily, looking dizzily around the little hut he'd been living in since coming to Earth. Maybe it wastime to sober up. Maybe get out there and do…  _something_. Anything.

* * *

The next ten years didn't go much better: Gabriel spent his time searching for God. He had no real motive in mind, no real plan of what he would do or say if he didhappen to find his missing father. All the archangel could think was that if God hadn't left them, maybe none of this would have happened… maybe if he founddear old Dad, all of this could somehow still be fixed.

Maybe they could go back, do it all over again. Maybe the corruption in that place he didn't think about anymore could be wiped out, maybe…

No, he never consciously let himself wonder if maybe certain angels could be brought back, because he never consciously thought about certain angels.

It was pointless, anyway; Dad was gone, and nowhere to be found, and Gabriel gave the task up with no small amount of disgust and bitterness. Why had he thought there was an answer waiting out there? They had been abandoned, a long time ago, and he'd just have to make his own damn way in the world.

And so he did.

* * *

Angels had never been designed to be solitary creatures, and it seemed only natural that he eventually fell in with a group of pagan gods.

"Name's Loki," he informed Kali and Ganesh with a cheeky wink, arms crossed and cocky smile in place. "But you can call me the Trickster."

"A god of mischief, just what we need," Ganesh sighed, exasperatedly shaking his head, while Gabriel beamed with delight. God of mischief… oh yes, he definitelyliked the sound of that. This was his calling, he decided, a chance to knock the high and mighty down a peg or two. Now he could finally rip them down off the lofty towers they built for themselves on the backs of weaker souls.

This was even more fun than being drunk.

In fact, Gabriel started having all  _kinds_ of fun, now that he had a human body and absolutely zero limitations, no laws to answer to. He was chaos; he was unbridled; he was free; he was  _pretty_ sure none of the Nephilim were his, though it was impossible to say for sure...

As it turned out, Gabriel was quite fond of sex, for the sheer physical pleasure. He craved it, craved anythingthat would make him forget there could ever be anything more intimate than a merely physical connection.

"Why must you treat everything as a joke, Loki?" Kali asked him icily, turning away from him in the bed they often shared. Gabriel had become quite attached to her – Kali was dark and ruthless and bloodthirsty, and everything that  _SHE_ hadn't been, and therefore was in no danger of reminding Gabriel of her.

"Because, everything  _is_ a joke, sweetheart," he informed her cheerfully, a bedazzling layer of bullshit to cover his bitterness. "Life, death and everything in between… it's all a big joke, so might as well enjoy the good stuff. Come on, who d'ya love?"

Kali twisted back to look at him, her dark eyes deep and dangerous. She smiled, as much as she ever did - which was really just a slight lessening of her arch coolness - as she replied regally, "Not you."

"Ouch, that hurts."

But it didn't, because Gabriel couldn't love Kali, either. Not really. He was fond of his new family, his new role as a pagan god, but there wasn't anything left that he truly loved. What had love ever done for him besides break his heart?

Gabriel, and everything he'd been, was dead; Loki was what remained. And if he spent his time killing humans? Well, to be honest… he didn't really give a damn. They had cost him everything: his family, his home, his... everything. He was undone.

Gabriel would eventually hear that Lucifer had been put in his cage after all, and that Michael had been the one to defeat him, but that was no longer of any interest. He would eventually sever his connection to Angel Radio after hearing about the first angel execution – he'd always feared it would come to that, but it wasn't his business anymore.

They were all safely out of his life, out of his concern. Everything was going just fine, thank you very much.

Until the day that Castiel had come crashing back into his life, his favorite fledgling who reminded him of home and brotherhood - Castiel, with his loyalty, his spirit, his heart.

In the end, how fitting wasit that the one to screw it allup would be Castiel?

* * *

High in the penthouse, silence followed Gabriel's breakdown, his outburst towards God. He slumped over, eyes closed and dripping with tears as he mourned for the love he'd tried so hard to forget. Nothing moved, until suddenly, a hand fell on Gabriel's shoulder.

He twitched as though to whirl around and attack, but Castiel's grip was warm and sturdy. "Gabriel…" the lesser angel murmured, coming around to kneel in front of his brother, both hands on his shoulders now. "I can't imagine your pain-"

"No, you can't!"

"…but I've learned some things from the humans you scorn so deeply. For one thing, the ones we love... they're never really gone. And… it's so much easier to survive the pain if… if you're not alone. Having a brother be there for you… well, it doesn't fix everything, but it helps."

Gabriel snorted, wiping his eyes, not particularly caring how fully he was falling apart right now, or that Castiel was witness to it. "Uh-huh, you get that from the Hardy Boys, didja?"

"…If that's a reference to-"

"YES, Castiel, it's your damn Winchesters!"

Castiel nodded, hands tightening on Gabriel's shoulders, trying to catch his eyes. "Then, yes. They taught me that. You couldn't even imagine how much they've gotten me through, when I thought they would want nothing more to do with me. You mock them, Gabriel, but in some ways, they're wiser and stronger than us angels."

Gabriel snorted, pushing Castiel's hands away. "Yeah, real bang-up job they've done. I really like the part where they opened Lucifer's cage and re-started the Apocalypse!"

"I'd sooner fight for the ones who made a mistake and are trying to fixit, than allow the corruption of our kindto cause any more harm!" snapped Castiel. "Hell speaks for itself, of course, but Heaven isn't going to be any kind of paradise.Do you have any idea what Heaven turned into after you left?"

"Nope, don't really care."

Castiel was silent for a moment, before snapping in a heavy, gruff voice, "You keep saying that, Gabriel, but I don't believe the brother I loved is really gone. I think part of you doesstill care."

"Well, I keep thinking you're gonna get outta here any minute now, so I guess we're both batting zero."

"Why do you want this fight?" Castiel demanded, sounded as frustrated as Gabriel felt. "You've seen how they both ended up, and if it wasn't for their fight, Ele-"

Gabriel lashed out ferociously, grabbing Castiel by his jacket and shoving him down to the floor. The enraged archangel was on his feet in seconds, standing over his brother with both fists clenched in agony. "I  _told_ you not to say her name! You just  _never_  learn your lesson!" he shouted, leaning over threateningly. Castiel rolled onto his side and raised a hand to ward him off, eyes suddenly wide and distant, and unusually fearful.

"No, don't!"

There was a flash, the sound of ripping fabric, and then Gabriel stumbled back in shock. What the- why had Castiel just brought his wings out? And what... what was that all over them?

"What the..."

Gabriel could only blink, so surprised that he forgot to be angry. He knew he shouldn't be staring, but he'd never seen anything like this before. "What the hell is that?" 

Castiel scrambled back, wings disappearing in another flash as he gasped for breath, shaking slightly. "It's nothing!" the lesser angel gasped, fixing his torn shirt and jacket in the blink of an eye as though hiding the physical evidence would trick Gabriel into thinking that hadn't just happened. "You... you weren't supposed to see that."

But Gabriel  _had_  seen it. There had been marks. Not visible scars, but imprints of some kind that Gabriel could sense. He just couldn't understand what he was sensing. Gabriel's first thought was that Castiel had bound his soul with another angel, but that didn't really fit… it wouldn't have left marks like that, certainly not such a jumbled mess. Would it?

"Castiel, wanna tell me what that was all about?"

"I said, it's  _nothing_!" Castiel's voice was harsh, but the archangel noted a distinct hint of fear and discomfort.

"Nothing, my ass," snorted Gabriel. "What, you mated with another angel?"

"No!" Castiel snapped. "I still lose control of them on occasion, that's all! Drop it, Gabriel,  _please._ I'm not here to talk about me-"

"Well, tough luck, kiddo, cause now I wanna talk about you, and what the hell is all over your wings! You know I can  _make_ you tell me-" The archangel broke off abruptly in surprise when Castiel's head suddenly whipped up, an intense fear burning in his eyes as he stumbled back again. What the hell? Gabriel had been threatening him since they'd reunited, and Castiel hadn't reacted like that. Holding up his hands to show he wasn't reallygonna hurt the kid, Gabriel asked, "Someone touched them, I'm not an idiot. Just tell me who it was."

There was a pause, and Castiel looked away, mouth tightening. Gabriel raised his eyebrows, letting the silence grow until Castiel finally answered in a hard voice. "Zachariah, alright?"

He couldn't help it; Gabriel burst into laughter. "Wh- You're  _kidding_!" he exclaimed gleefully. "Zach- are you serious? Wow, bro… I always thought you had better taste than that. You and Zachariah?  _That_ dick? So you didmate! Man, of allthe angels you could've chose, what could you possibly see in him?"

Another pause, and Gabriel's laughter died away. Castiel's face started to color, his arms coming up to wrap around himself uncomfortably. The angel's voice was filled with gravel as he finally muttered, "You misunderstand. I… I didn't choose him. I just… couldn't stop him."

Gabriel froze. His stomach clenched up, and he would swear his heart actually stopped. Surely he had just misheard. "…Say again?"

"It's- There's... a spell," Castiel answered, tone low and hard. He wouldn't look at his brother. "It forces an angel to… to reveal their wings. I- I didn't  _want_ him touching them. Him orthe ones hold- holding me down... I couldn't- I..." He broke off, inhaling sharply; his eyes were moist, his body trembling. "I was punished, alright? For not learning my lesso _n._  When you said that, it- it triggered- Look, just drop it."

The archangel went cold. He swayed slightly, feeling light-headed, while his gut churned in revulsion. He wasn't hearing this. There was no way. Executions, torture, that was one thing, but this went beyond any evil he'd ever imagined, and he had an excellent imagination. No angel would touchanother's wings without permission, and  _never_ by force.  _NEVER._

For a moment, he just stared at Castiel, then Gabriel spun around, reaching out for the nearby table so he could lean against it heavily. The archangel took deep breaths, shaking his head in denial.

"No. It's off-limits. Even Zachariah…"

To touch another angel's wings was the highestsymbol of trust and devotion, the deepestcommitment, an act of loveand respect, and Zachariah… Zachariah had corrupted  _that_? The one most precious gift any angel could offer another, and even that was now nothing but a means of torture? No, it just wasn't possible! The very  _IDEA..._

"But an angel's touch doesn't leave marks like that!" he snapped, trying to refute Castiel's story. "You're marked with  _something_ -" Gabriel broke off as he saw a shudder race through Castiel, and his heart dropped even more. "Castiel?"

The lesser angel's sickened, traumatized eyes rose to Gabriel for only a second, before Castiel closed his eyes again and sighed, slumping in resignation. "The imprints..." he admitted quietly, "are... are from demons, Gabriel. That was my... punishment. For helping Dean and Sam. He- he let the demons-" Castiel shook his head and whispered instead, "I don't want to talk about it."

Gabriel couldn't speak. He couldn't move, he couldn't even think. Not this.  _Anything_ but this. Gabriel desperatelywanted it to be a lie, but this was Castiel, and he was many things… but he wasn't a liar. Zachariah had forcedhimself on Castiel's wings, and demons…  _demons_ had touched his baby brother, demons had markedhis wings, his  _soul_.

Gabriel couldn't fight the rising nausea; his already churning stomach rebelled against this atrocity. In a flash, he'd materialized a trash can into his hands, and the archangel promptly vomited into it. He was shaking, filled with a rage he couldn't beginto control.

"You weren't supposed to see… you- you weren't supposed to know," Castiel whispered again, and the shame Gabriel heard in his baby brother'svoice made him want to _kill_.

"Where is he?" Gabriel seethed, wiping his mouth and raising his thunderous eyes. His hands clenched and every single light in the hundred mile radius surrounding him was instantlyblown out. Transformers as far away as five towns over exploded in blazing fireballs, and the very ground shook with the force of his fury. Not since Ezrahad he known this depth of pure, blinding rage.

Zachariah had  _hurt_  Gabriel's favorite fledgling, in the most abominable, unspeakable way, and Gabriel wanted his blood,he wanted his  _head_ , he wanted his essence  _RIPPED_ apart, he wanted to  _SHRED ZACHARIAH TO PIECES_  for this evil!

"ZACHARIAH!" he bellowed, so ferocious that the entire building quaked and the windows shattered to dust, but Castiel quickly stepped forward, looking steadier now.

"I killed him, Gabriel. Zachariah's dead, so are the others. The Winchesters and Terriel helped me find a way to cope with the demonic imprints, so I'm alright."

Alright? There was nothingalright about this! Now, though, Gabriel remembered the Winchesters' odd behavior when he'd been spying on them. Flashbacks... they'd said something about flashbacks, and now it allmade sense, because of course something that traumatizing would leave Castiel with an emotional fallout!

"Terriel?" Gabriel echoed, still too enraged to think straight.

"He left Heaven to help rescue me. He's fighting for the humans, too. Gabriel… do you understand now, what Heaven has turned into? We  _need_ you-"

"Did Michael know about this?!" There was no way. Michael would have  _never_ condoned something this horrific, not even Lucifer would have allowed this sort of thing. Castiel paused, and Gabriel spun back towards him, and thundered, "Did he know?"

Castiel hesitated, then quietly answered, "If he didn't order it… he also never stopped it."

Gabriel didn't reply, just snarled a low curse and turned his back. They couldn't have taken  _this_ , too, not this most sacred thing.

"Gabriel, I'm recovering. It's fine," Castiel spoke up from behind him, somehow still standingafter everything that had happened to him. "But maybe you  _do_  give a damn after all."

"What do you wantfrom me?" Gabriel shouted, feeling himself rapidly spiraling out of control. "Huh? What do you want, Castiel?"

"You were the only archangel who stood for us, Gabriel. You asked me if I remembered you protecting me from Michael. I  _do_. I've had so many memories stolenfrom me, but I do remember that. You see what we've become under his leadership. Youcould lead. The angels need another leader, and they would follow you,  _I_ would follow you-"

"I don't want to lead them! I just want it to end, what don't you understand?"

"It will  _never_ end!"

Silence fell over the penthouse, as Gabriel glared at his younger brother. Castiel sighed, as he murmured, "Those humans, the ones you hold in such contempt… they're the ones who saved me, after Zachariah. I tried to run away from it, but Dean and Sam nevergave up on me. They have their issues, but they're goodmen, and they're my family now. Help us, Gabriel. Help us stopthis war, help us stop Michael and Lucifer, because no matter which of them wins, we  _all lose_ , do you see that now?"

"I need some air." The archangel couldn't handle all of this right now, turning to go. He paused as Castiel called him.

"Gabriel…" There was a pause, a sigh. "I… I am not very… adept at offering comfort. I wish I was. I know there are things I'm supposed to say to someone who's lost something as important as what you had. But I don't… I don't know what they are. You love her still, don't you?"

The archangel didn't shout at him for bringing the memories back this time. Instead, his shoulders sagged, his head bowed. Gabriel's voice was barely audible, as he finally whispered, "Forever."

There was another silence, and then Castiel awkwardly finished, "I'm sorry, brother. You know… you don't have to be alone. We've  _all_ lost everything. Maybe… maybe you could finish what she would have started. You knowwhat she would have done. You know what she would have stood for."

Another pregnant pause, in which Gabriel didn't say anything. He didn't turn to face Castiel; he couldn't now, not with tears dripping down his face. Not with Castiel trying to comforthim, after he'd run off and abandoned the angels just like Dad had. If he hadn't run away, Castiel might not have suffered such barbaric torture at the hands of his brothers, and the demons... but Castiel was comforting  _him_ , and wasn't that just screwed up?

"And…I've… I've really missed you, Gabriel."

Okay, nope, he couldn't deal with this anymore. Time to run again. Tears streamed down Gabriel's face and he took off with a flap of wings and three whispered words: "You too, kiddo."


	20. The Final Stand

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of the dialogue is from Hammer of the Gods ^_^ 
> 
> Reminder: I love happy endings...

Gabriel was having a seriously hard time sorting through all his emotions, each as intense as the next. He was going out of his mind, if he hadn't lost it long ago, of course. One thing was clear: no matter how right he'd been not to back Lucifer, he'd been right not to back Michael, either. The pure  _fury_ he felt, that Michael would have permitted what had happened to Castiel… maybe even ordered it… no, he refused to believe that Michael would have actually condoned something so evil.

Then again, refusing to believe that Michael would go too far was the whole reason everything had fallen apart to begin with.

Standing outside in the freezing atmosphere of the antarctic circle, Gabriel spread his arms and glowered up at the indigo, midnight sky. "Are you  _happy_ now, Michael?" he bellowed. "Are you satisfied yet? I told you, I  _told_ you, you hold on too tight, you're gonna lose everything!"

The archangel's arms dropped, as his face tightened in pain at the memory of Castiel's shame-filled eyes, trying to convince Gabriel it was nothing, that he was alright. If this was what they'd come to…

"Congratulations, Michael," Gabriel growled. "You  _have_ lost everything,  _every_ angel has! We've lost our home, we've lost our family… we've lost everything we were! And  _you_ , you've completely lost control, trying to get more! When's it enough for you, Michael? Huh? How far you gonna go before it's  _ENOUGH_?"

Gabriel sighed and rubbed his face. He really wanted to get drunk again, but there was no point in trying. His grace seemed to have rebelled entirely; every time Gabriel came within a foot of liquor, the damn thing exploded, until he gave up the attempt and set his mind to what the hell he was supposed to do now.

Try as he might, he couldn't forget Castiel's words.  _You know what she would have done. You know what she would have stood for._

Yeah, he did know. He'd known all along… and perhaps that was partly why he held the humans to blame. She would have fought for them, and she'd been killed as a casualty of war that had started because of them in the first place. She'd sacrificed herself to stop Lucifer from winning and destroying humanity.

Eleanor, Gabriel knew as well as Castiel, would have stood against both Michael and Lucifer, had even encouraged him to stand up to them.

He had not. Now she was gone.

In the end, no matter how powerful the archangels were, no matter how many other angels were a hundred times stronger than Eleanor… she had been a better angel than all of them.

"I don't see it, El," Gabriel admitted brokenly, gazing over the world, watching. Countries were torn apart by the wars of those who wanted more power, and the casualties were those who had none at all. A single mother clung to the baby she couldn't afford to feed, alone on the cold, unforgiving streets as she tried to avoid the judgmental glares while shame-facedly slipping food into the pockets of her shabby coat.

Even human childrenwere cruel; he watched a young girl leave school in tears, mercilessly bullied until she began to slide a razor across her wrists just to dull the pain in her heart.

Gabriel shook his head. "I mean…" he went on, " _this_ is what I'm supposed to try and save? This is what I'm supposed to fight for?" He closed his eyes and sighed. "I don't see it. I don't see what you saw. They're broken things, corrupted little… little… ugh!" He turned away with an expression of disgust. For crying out loud, he could almost smell the squalor, the putrid ugliness of the darkest corners of the world. How was it remotely worth saving? Sure, there were good things... like candy, and porn, but to hell with that, because he could just as easily have that on another world, if he left this one to its fate.

What would Ellie say? It had been so long since he'd even allowed himself to think of her, shutting out every memory; it was liberating in a way, now that the walls had come down. Gabriel took a deep breath and tried to clear his mind. What would Ellie tell him right now?

He could almost hear her voice, warm and gentle in the back of his mind.  _Look again, Gabriel,_ that's what she would say.  _Look closer._

And so he did.

The village was being torn apart by bullets and grenades, but a father stood over his family, shielding them with his own body in an act of protection and love… a young soldier threw himself into the line of fire to push an innocent bystander to cover in an act of sacrifice and courage. His paradise, when he entered Heaven soon, would be a field where there were no bullets, only wildflowers and the woman he'd left behind.

The homeless mother looked up at the police officer who had caught her shoplifting, and her eyes filled with tears, but he only led her across the street to the diner. He bought her as much food as she could eat, and some to take with her, then took her to the store to buy her formula and diapers for the baby, and blankets for both of them. The mother cried because she couldn't repay him; he asked only that she call him if she ever needed anything, before leading her to the shelter - compassion and generosity.

A teacher at the young girl's school left a hand-written note in the girl's locker, asking her to stop hurting herself, telling her that she was much too beautiful, too worthy, to deserve such scars, that there was always someone who would listen and give her support… someone who cared. Just knowing that someone had even bothered to realize something was wrong would help the young girl stand up to the bullies and re-claim her life. One day, she would leave the same message with another struggling heart - support, strength, empathy, love.

 _You see their dark side so clearly,_ that was what Eleanor would say, her voice alive in Gabriel's mind as his eyes filled with tears.  _But you missed everything else._

And what about the Winchesters themselves? What was it Castiel had said?  _"Those humans, the ones you hold in such contempt, are the ones who saved me, after Zachariah. Dean and Sam never gave up on me. They have their issues, but they're good men."_

Humans, two infuriatingly rebellious and uncooperative humans, taking care of an angel, doing what Gabrielshould have been doing. And that… that was the key.

 _That_ was what Eleanor saw. People. People doing the work intended for angels, doing the jobs that angels had long since forsaken. After all this time, no matter how much darkness there was, there were still people doing their very damndest to take care of each other - caring for each other as angels had forgotten to do. Gabriel's moist eyes looked up, wishing uselessly that Eleanor could be there with him, as he finally understood exactly why they were worth saving, flaws and all.

So when Kali coolly delivered her message some time later, telling him about the meeting of the pagan gods – and more importantly, the plan to take on the archangels by kidnapping the vessels – Gabriel already knew what he had to do.

* * *

The first step was to make a very important movie.

There was no way in hell he was going to let the pagan gods – jerks, every last one of them, but they were his family now – take on the archangels. It was too dangerous and it would only lead to more  _useless_ bloodshed. Besides… it wasn't their fight. It never should have been left to them.

But Gabriel would make a stand. And hey, he'd probably be killed doing it. He already knew that as surely as he knew anything, which left everything hinging on two boys, an old drunk, and a fallen angel.

Yeah, seriously, what could go wrong with this plan?

"Sam, Dean," Gabriel said to the camera, enjoying his role in the porno production to the fullest. Nothing wrong with one last romp. "You're probably wondering what the hell is going on. Well, if you're watching this, I'm dead." Hey, with any luck, he'd never have to give them this DVD. First, he'd try to convince them what a terrible idea this was, but Gabriel didn't believe for one second they would back out.

And he was no longer convinced that he wanted them to.

But they were gonna need help, and he might not be there to give it to them when the time came. Quickly, Gabriel told them everything he knew about Lucifer's cage and the Horsemen's rings which would open it. There wasn't a chance in hell they could actually killLucifer, but… maybe this would do the trick instead. Remove Lucifer from the ring, and then Michael would have no one to fight, and the world wouldn't be ripped to shreds in the crossfire. There was still a chance that neitherof his brothers had to die. And screw the whole destiny crap. Dad was gone anyway.

"Can't say I'm betting on you boys," Gabriel admitted to the camera, pulling a wry face, before shrugging. "But, uh, hey! I've been wrong before." So,  _so_ wrong. "Oh, and… Sam? Dean?"

Gabriel faced the camera fully. The joking façade fell away, and he added in a lower voice, "Thank you. For taking care of my little brother. And, uh… it might not mean much, but… tell Castiel I'm glad Dad shazammed him back to life. And…" Gabriel chewed his lip; it'd been a long time since he'd had such a sincere moment.

Taking a breath, he finished, "…tell him, I'm proud of him." There was a pause, then Gabriel popped a smirk and added, "Now that the moment's over, if you crazy kids will excuse me, I've got my hands a little full right now."

What? He had every right to indulge, especially if he was about to make a stand as radical as this.

* * *

When the time finally came, Gabriel found himself surprisingly calm (even after being called out as an archangel, and oh yeah the assassination attempt from Kali, which Gabriel considered to be a highly ungrateful move).

Of course Dean had adamantly refused to see reason and run, but what had Gabriel reallyexpected? Of course any vessel of Michael's was going to be a stubborn idiot. But in the end, Gabriel couldn't really blame Dean for refusing to give this up. Not anymore.  _(I've… I've really missed you, Gabriel.)_ Because Dean was a big brother, too, and why had Gabriel everthought he was just going to calmly accept the notion of killing Sam? Why had he everthought Dean could do what Gabriel himself couldn't: kill his own brother?

Yeah, that clearly wasn't going to happen, and Gabriel got it now. Which meant there was only one thing left to do.

"Ellie…" Gabriel whispered. There were no tears in his eyes, only acceptance. Sam and Dean were the only ones who could stop things now, and he had to make sure they escaped from here tonight. "I'm so sorry, El. I… I lost my way. I know none of what I've done with the whole Trickster thing is what you woulda wanted. But, you were always better than me. Always."

There were no jokes, no masks, only his most authentic self, the vulnerability of honest feelings that he'd always felt safe enough to share with Eleanor.

He took a deep breath, looking up at the sky above, studded with stars. Eleanor had once given him the chance to hear those very stars, to hear them sing in all their glory. Gabriel suddenly wished he could have heard their song, just one more time.

"Man, I really screwed the pooch, Ellie. I shoulda listened to you a longtime ago. I know it's too late to atonefor anything, but hey… what the hell, right?"

Right.

Well, nothing else for it. Lucifer was inside, wreaking havoc, and Gabriel had a train to catch. The train was death and the destination was unknown, but it always left on time.

Gabriel flew back in to hear Sam asking Dean anxiously if he was okay, both of them crouched behind an overturned sofa. "Not really," the archangel replied cheekily, drawing their surprised attention back to him. He gave them a wink and a reckless grin. "Better late than never, huh?" Pulling out the all-important movie that he'd made, Gabriel pushed it into Dean's chest. "Guard this with your life."

The two boys were obviously confused but he didn't stop to answer questions. Now that Gabriel was on his path, there was no stopping him, no slowing him down. The archangel stood, his sword – his  _real_ sword, not the fake he'd allowed Kali to take – dropping into his hand. Striding forward, Gabriel raised a hand and used his full grace to fling Lucifer away from Kali before he could kill her, right through the doors of the ballroom.

"Luci, I'm home!" he quipped, though there was no joke on his face as he went to help Kali to her feet. She would walk out of there, alive; he wasn't losing anyone else. "Not this time," Gabriel quietly told Lucifer, voice full of meaning.

Not again,  _never_ again.

"Guys, get her outta here!"

No more bystanders getting hurt, no more losing the ones he caredabout, not this time. Kali wasn't his love, but she had been his girl, even if only for a while… and this time, Lucifer wasn't going to take that from him.

Neither Sam nor Dean protested, hurrying to take the goddess and escort her from the room. Even Kali herself willingly went along; maybe she'd realized that Gabriel knew what he was talking about when he said she couldn't beat Lucifer. Gabriel breathed a sigh of relief as the three made it out of the room, covering their retreat with blade at the ready.

The ornate chandeliers hanging from the ceiling flickered slightly, casting their light on the dark, splintered wood and ripped seat cushions. Lucifer stormed back through the demolished doors into the ballroom, looking thoroughly displeased at the surprise attack.

"Over a girl, Gabriel, really?" the fallen archangel tsk-ed, not looking or sounding remotely surprised to see his supposedly dead brother there; he'd always been the most likely to guess the truth when it came to Gabriel's tricks, though. He'd probably known the whole time that the youngest archangel was still alive. "I mean, I knew you were slumming, but I hope you didn't...  _catch_ anything."

"Lucifer, you're my brother," Gabriel calmly retorted, eyes narrowing as he elected to ignore the insult to his pagan friends. "And I love you. But you are a great big bag of  _dicks_."

 _Man,_ it felt good to say it out loud! It was worth it to see Lucifer's face, who had neverbeen spoken to in such an appallingly honestway.

"Wait, what did you just say to me?"

"Look at yourself!" Gabriel snapped, as all of his patience flooded away. This talking-to was longoverdue for Lucifer, and he wasn't going to hold back as the two archangels circled each other slowly, several feet apart. "Boo-hoo! Daddy was mean to me, so I'm gonna smash up all His toys."

"Watch your tone," warned Lucifer, but that did absolutely nothingbut remind Gabriel of Michael, which irritated him all the more. They really had been two arrogant peas in a pod, in the end.

Because, in the end, this entirething had been nothing but one big temper tantrum that had exploded out of control, and Gabriel told him so in as frank of terms as he possibly could. He could seeLucifer's blackened aura throbbing with cool rage, but Gabriel truly,  _truly_ didn't give a damn.

"Gabriel, if you're doing this for Michael-"

"Screw him," Gabriel interrupted with stony sincerity, waving a careless hand. "If he were standing here, I'd shiv his ass, too." And that, again, was perfectly true. For what he'd done to Castiel… for what he'd done to  _Heaven_ …

…for picking the fight that had cost Eleanor's life.

"You disloyal-"

"Oh, I'm loyal!" Gabriel snapped, trying not to laugh at the sheer absurdity of Lucifer, of  _all_ angels, talking about disloyalty. "To them!"

"Who?" Lucifer demanded, looking around in disdain. "These so called gods?!"

"To  _people,_ Lucifer. People."

Lucifer regarded him, and Gabriel forced himself to stay calm. It was chilling, though, to look into the face of his brother and see only a ghost of the friend Gabriel had once had, long ago.

"So you're willing to die," Lucifer murmured thoughtfully, only confirming that hewould have no problem doing what Gabriel couldn't. "For a pile of cockroaches. Why?"

"Because Dad was right," Gabriel shot back, even knowing that Lucifer's rage would only be further fueled by the honest answer. The archangels continued to circle, neither gaining ground, neither moving in, neither within range. "They  _are_ better than us."

"They are  _broken_ ," seethed Lucifer, "flawed...  _abortions_!"

"Damn right, they're flawed." Hell, Gabriel had spent the last thousand years noticing all the flaws, he'd  _seen_ the dark side of humanity. But Eleanor had seen more. Castiel had seen more. "But a lot of them try. To do better. To forgive. And you should see the Spearmint Rhino!" What? He liked strip clubs. But back on target. "I've been riding the pine a long time," Gabriel admitted. "But I'm in the game now, and I'm not on your side, or Michael's. I'm on theirs."

Eleanor couldn't fight for the humans any more, but Gabriel could and  _would_.

Of course Lucifer couldn't even begin to understand this, but Gabriel wasn't expecting him to. He'd stopped believing in miracles a long time ago; Lucifer wasn't going to see it, he was never going to see past his own bitterness and hatred. Nothing Gabriel said was going to change that.

Lucifer shook his head, eyes dark. He crouched slightly - an infinitesimally small movement, but Gabriel had tussled with his brother before and recognized the signal that he was about to attack. But he was about to attack a decoy, an apparition, one of Gabriel's best tricks; the real Gabriel stood behind his brother, steeling himself as his hand gripped his archangel sword tightly. His heart thudded in his chest, stomach tight with agony at the thought of plunging that blade through his own brother's heart.

"Brother…" Lucifer seethed in warning, not knowing his danger. "Don't make me do this."

"No one makes us do anything." 

"I know you think you're doing the right thing, Gabriel," Lucifer growled. "But I know where your heart truly lies."

He had to move  _now_ , while Lucifer was still distracted with talking, or Gabriel wouldn't be able to follow through with this. Silently whispering an apology, the archangel stepped stealthily closer until he was directly behind his brother. His hand rose, prepared to deliver the killing blow, ready to stab Lucifer through the back and end this once and for all.

The next few seconds were a blur. A choking gasp filled the air and Gabriel's eyes blew wide… but Lucifer was unscathed. Everything went cold. The room began to darken, as Lucifer leaned in close and whispered,

"Here."

Gabriel – the  _real_ Gabriel – doubled over slightly and clung to Lucifer in shock with white knuckles. He felt paralyzed, but he didn't need to look down to know that Lucifer had grabbed his arm and redirected the intended attack… plunging the blade right through Gabriel's own heart. Behind them, the fake Gabriel that Lucifer had been talking to shimmered out of view; it hadn't fooled Lucifer in the slightest.

Shit… that- that hadn't gone according to plan.

"Amateur hocus pocus," Lucifer muttered, his grip tightening on Gabriel's blade. There was the barest trace of regret in his icy eyes, but not enough to have stopped his hand. "Don't forget, you learned all your tricks from  _me_ … little brother."

The blade running him through ruthlessly twisted, and Gabriel choked again, staring up at the brother he'd loved with dimming eyes. He was dying, and dying fast... the train was preparing to leave the station with him on board, but Gabriel was already too far gone to be afraid. Funny… it didn't even hurt, not really… he was too numb. There was light everywhere, most of it probably coming from him as his grace rapidly expanded outwards in death. His wings were burning, he could smell the sizzling, charred feathers as his whole essence began turning to ash.

Gabriel's mind drifted to Eleanor. He could almost feel her pressing tightly against him, her strength giving him strength, her warmth giving him peace, her soul bound to his. So much for helping the humans... but Sam and Dean had escaped, so maybe... maybe he'd at least bought them a chance.

Finally… finally, it was over, and maybe now he could have some peace.

The last thing Gabriel was fleetingly aware of as he gave in to darkness and death, was the choir of stars singing their jubilant, incomprehensibly beautiful song.

...One last time.


	21. Just Desserts

The first rather startling thing Gabriel noticed was that he was not, in fact, dead. But how was that even possible? Lucifer had just killed him, so why did he seem to be so… conscious?

The archangel was standing, somehow still on his feet, and he glanced down at himself as though perplexed by this fact. There was grey, mossy cobblestone under his feet, much like the little nook in Heaven. That was strange.

Where was he? Gabriel looked up, and blinked in mild surprise as he realized someone was standing right there a few feet in front of him.

"Well done, Gabriel," the man greeted him in delight, as their eyes met. Then, the stranger paused, rolled his eyes in exasperation, and muttered, " _Finally_."

"Uh, who are you?" Gabriel demanded, reflexively reaching for his archangel blade before he remembered that he didn't have it anymore because Lucifer had used it to killhim. Except, it seemed to be right back in his jacket. Huh.

The stranger held up his hands in peace, though, smiling vaguely.

"You don't remember me?"

Should he? Gabriel regarded the stranger for a long moment, trying to place the rather nondescript man standing before him. Had he seen him before? Wait… yeah, he knew the guy, it'd just been a long time since he'd cared enough to remember the names of his kind, but they were permanently inscribed in his mind. Gabriel sighed and relaxed. "Oh. Right. The prophet."

"…Uh-huh. Well, one of 'em," the man agreed, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Chuck Shurley. You're Gabriel, of course."

Gabriel was looking around in bafflement, but he acknowledged the remark with a casual, flippant salute. "The one and only. Look, Chuck, I don't know what you're doing here, but maybe you can tell me where 'here' is?" Gabriel suggested, looking around again. It sure did look a lot like Heaven. "Shouldn't I be dead? I just got an archangel blade jammed through my heart."

Chuck nodded, looking around as well. "Ah, yeah… yeah, that'd do it," he agreed. "I mean, you definitely died. It was… whoo." He winced, shaking his head. "It was pretty nasty. No way of surviving thatone, sorry."

"Okay, well, I don't feel very dead. Where are we? Heaven? How am I back home if I died?" Gabriel knew for a fact that angels didn't just automatically go to Heaven when they died, no one knew  _what_ happened to them.

The prophet only shrugged. "Cause you're not dead."

Eh? Staring at Chuck, Gabriel pointed out, "You  _just_ said I died. Let's get the story straight, prophet."

"Yeah, you did. But… now you're alive again _._ I mean, you wouldn't be the first angel to be brought back, Gabriel," Chuck pointed out. "Guess you still have a job to do. You know, like you're not done yet, or something."

Gabriel stiffened. "What? No, come on! I was done a long time ago," he complained. "What could I  _possibly_  still have to do? Lucifer killed me, I think we all know I ain't gonna beat that douche-nozzle,  _or_ Michael."

"No, no, Michael and Lucifer aren't your fight," Chuck agreed unconcernedly, waving him off. "Sam and Dean will take care of that, and they've got Castiel with them. That one's up to them. I think they'll do alright, though." There was a note of pride in his voice, but Gabriel just shook his head.

"Then  _what_? I wanted it to be over!"

Chuck just looked at him, half puzzled, half surprised. "It's never over, Gabriel. Whether you leave the story or not. Thought you would've learned that by now."

Yeah, well,  _Eleanor_  had left the story, Gabriel thought as tears sprang to his eyes. That was really the only thing that mattered. He wasn't really supposed to live forever, with no peace from the heartache, was he?! Gabriel glared down at the ground, vision blurred by the tears. From his periphery, he saw the man lift a hand as though to set it on his shoulder, but then thought better of it. Chuck sighed.

"Look, forget about the Apocalypse for now. I'm glad you decided humanity's worth the effort, but Heaven's gonna need some work before it's ready to help the Earth. The angels  _need_  a leader," he said, echoing Castiel's words from before. "You're an archangel... you were made to lead. I think we've all seen what happens when one of the other three take charge. Besides, weren't you the one who was on the whole "play your role" crusade? Gabriel, listen," Chuck added seriously. "I know you think you were all abandoned, but… I think God cares enough to want his angels in better hands, and that means you. You were… chosen."

"But  _why_?" shouted Gabriel, emotion welling up. "I don't  _want_ to lead them! I never did! I'm not a leader!"

Chuck shrugged again, the ghost of a smile crossing his face. "Yeah, well, I guess the chosen never think they are," he replied. "Makes 'em much better suited for it, really."

Gabriel's fists clenched, and he glared up at the sky. "How many timeshave we been over this? What is sohard to understand?" he complained. "I'm not Michael. I don't  _want_ to be in charge. Let someone else do it."

"Yeah, I don't think it works that way," the prophet replied with a grimace. "Someone else could try it, but  _trust_  me, it doesn't turn out well for him."

"And you know so much about this  _how,_ exactly? For that matter, what are you even doinghere?" Gabriel shot back suspiciously, crossing his arms. Chuck only rolled his eyes again, gesturing to himself as though that was an explanation.

"Hello,  _prophet_? Trust me, this isn't the weirdest thing I've had to do. Look, there's no rush, Sam and Dean still have an Apocalypse to take care of, and you've earned a bit of paradise. You'll know when it's time to make your move."

"Uh-huh, and if I just say no?"

Infuriatingly, Chuck only gave him a contented smile. "You won't."

"So I don't even get a choice?" the archangel protested. This wasn't fair! "What, you're gonna  _make_ me, or else?"

"Me?" Chuck asked in surprise, before laughing. "Look, man, no one  _makes_ you do anything. Of course you get a choice. Everyone gets a choice – I mean, except for  _me_ , not that you care-"

"Nope, not really."

The prophet shot him a glare, before finishing, "I just happen to think you'll make the  _right_ choice now. I know you better than you think I do."

Now the prophet was just starting to get on his nerves, and Gabriel nodded with a sarcastic roll of his eyes. "Whatever you say. For someone who knows so much, you haven't even told me where the hell we are."

"Oh. Well…" Chuck looked around them again, smiling thoughtfully. "You did pretty good back there, so I think it's your paradise. Well... in a manner of speaking."

"In a manner of speaking?"

Chuck's eyes turned back to Gabriel, and the prophet shrugged. "I mean… your paradise was never really a  _place_ , was it?"

Gabriel instantly froze. His heart began to pound, mouth suddenly dry, and he felt weak. He managed to step forward, grabbing Chuck's jacket as the archangel's eyes widened. Did he even  _dare_ to hope? "Are you… are you saying…?"

"Gabriel?"

The voice behind him brought tears to Gabriel's wide eyes as he inhaled sharply. He was suddenly filled with terror, not wanting to turn around, because if this wasn't real then he would be utterly destroyed. But Chuck was smiling, looking over Gabriel's shoulder, and the archangel  _felt_ her there.

Swallowing hard, Gabriel released the prophet, gathered his courage, and slowly revolved on the spot.

Oh… oh god…

Eleanor stood there, a brilliantly warm smile on her face as she gazed at Gabriel with loving radiance. He would have known that beautiful soul anywhere, even after thousands of years and another lifetime, and he knewin the span of a single heartbeat that this was entirely real. He couldn't think, couldn't breathe, as his numb feet took a shaky step forward on their own.

She only smiled all the wider, and then Gabriel _ran_ towards her, tears streaming down his face as he went. Wings blossomed from both of their backs, shredding Gabriel's shirt and jacket. As he closed the distance, he had time to vaguely see that Eleanor's wings were now pure gold against her white robes, before they were locked in a full embrace at long, long last.

_"Ellie… Ellie… Ellie…"_

There were no words, nothing in his mind but her name, over and over. Their wings covered each other, joining once again as they had once done in another lifetime. It was the purest sense of completion that the archangel could have ever imagined, the other half of his soul uniting with him at long, long last.

_"Gabriel, FINALLY!"_

_"Ellie!"_

Gabriel's grip was so desperate, so tight, that he might well have crushed her had she been human. Wrapping her with both arms and wings, Gabriel couldn't have let go if he'd wanted to. His hands trailed over her arms, her back, her face, her feathers, everypart of her that his heart had been aching to hold again, just to  _see_  one more time.

How could this even be real?

They didn't try to speak, either out loud or between their connected souls. There were no words to be said, not now. Words would come later, but right now they only wanted to holdeach other, body and soul. For right now, it was only emotions that passed between them, and those emotions were deep and pure and eternal.

There was no way of measuring time here in this paradise, no way to know just how long the two silently held each other tight. He never saw Chuck leave, but was eventually aware of the fact that they were alone, alone with his paradise. Gabriel was trembling as he held Eleanor against him, feeling her heart beat against his, her soul pulsing within his own body. When he did finally manage to find words, it was just to say her name once again, marveling at how amazing the once forbidden word felt on his tongue.

"Eleanor… Ellie."

Her hand caressed his wing lightly, running through the feathers as the beautiful angel pulled back enough to see his face at last. She smiled, and there were tears in her eyes – those eyes burning with passion that he had always loved. "You have  _no_  idea," she whispered in agony. "No idea how much it killed me, not being able to touch you."

Gabriel blinked, pulling back a bit more but refusing to let go of her, or pull his massive wings away from her smaller ones.

"What?"

Eleanor sighed slightly and raised one shoulder in a delicate shrug. "I never really left, Gabriel. I was with you the whole time, but… I couldn't… I…"

Whoa, wait, she'd been  _what_? Gabriel stared, a hand settling on Eleanor's cheek, as he shook his head in confusion. Eleanor swallowed, then raised a wing to give him a gentle buffet on the side of the head. "Remember this?" she asked lightly. "Remember when we bound our souls together? Most of me was destroyed that day with the Knight… along with the part of you that dwelt within me. You probably felt it happen. But… part of me survived."

Her wings snapped outwards briefly, flaring ever so slightly as she glanced up at them. "As you can see, it was the part of my soul that dwelt within  _you_."

The gold…  _his_ gold. Gabriel stopped to really lookat the glorious wings now, feeling awed and oddly humbled. On him, the gold was dramatic, almost flashy… on her, it was regal, majestic - the wings of a queen.

"So you… you never really…?"

"Part of me died," she replied softly. "Well,  _most_ of me died. But we shared a soul, and you lived, so… I lived. No corporeal form, of course, but I was always there with you, attached to your soul because it was  _my_ soul, too. It was… disorienting. I wasn't expecting it, to be honest, I thought I'd be killed for good. But when you were put back together, I suppose my part of our soul was separated out again."

Gabriel could only shake his head, at a loss, overwhelmed, trying to just keep on solid ground. "You… but I didn't… all that time, I never feltyou…"

"You shut me out," she pointed out, a tinge of sadness in her voice that made Gabriel want to cry. "I mean, Gabriel… the wall of Jericho had nothingon you. When you build a wall,  _nothing_ can get through. You wouldn't let me in, you wouldn't even  _think_ about me, you attacked poor Castiel just for almost saying my name…"

"I'm sorry…" The words were barely a whisper, the words he'd wanted to say for so long. "El, I'm so sorry… I…"

"Shh…" And, once again, it was  _her_ trying to comfort  _him_ , and Gabriel took a deep breath. If it had been hell for him, how hard must it have been for Eleanor, to be right there but unable to be heard or seen? For all that time.How was she even still sane?

"I'm sorry," he whispered again, closing his eyes as the archangel reveled in the feel of her wings brushing his face lightly.

"I tried so hard to get through to you, I truly did," she murmured. "But I could only manage when your defenses were at their lowest. Like in the fire, Gabriel... you- you really considered  _not_ dropping that token. But I couldn't just let you die."

Gabriel blinked, remembering that moment in the warehouse with the Winchesters, surrounded by holy fire. He remembered hesitating, considering how easy it would be to just  _not_ save himself, how much sooner it would end all the pain. He remembered how his hand had twitched almost of its own accord, and he studied Eleanor with the slightest of smiles.

"So that was  _you_ , tipping my hand," he murmured. Then, his eyes widened. "El- wait,  _you_ kept making all the good booze blow up?"

"Well, you'd had quiteenough, Gabriel. It was much easier to get in when you were drunk."

Gabriel hung his head, abashed, though the rebuke had been a gentle one. He froze, then, as a horrible thought occurred to him. "Uh- so, wait, when you say… you were alwaysthere… always, as in… uh…  _always_?"

Oh boy… that was awkward. His many… many…  _many_  indiscretions came to mind, and the powerful archangel gritted his teeth in chagrin. Eleanor just looked at him, expression dry, and he knew that she was perfectly aware of what he meant specifically. After a moment without her saying a word, just giving him that  _look_ , Gabriel cringed.

"Uh, now, Ellie, I can- I can explain all that…"

"Don't, honestly. I always understood. You were alone, you needed someone. I was  _glad_ you found a family… angels were never made to be alone. But, Gabriel, bedding the humans-" Eleanor broke off, looking upwards as she amended with much restraint, "-the, um…  _many_ humans – that was one thing, but… Kali? I get it, you were trying to forget me, but  _Kali_? Really?"

Gabriel rubbed the back of his neck, looking away awkwardly. Well, this was seriously uncomfortable. "Now, look, the pagan gods might seemkinda backwards and unpleasant, but underneath, they're... well, backwards and unpleasant, but-"

"Gabriel." She cut him off, still giving him the same deadpan look, and the archangel lapsed back into silence. Eleanor shook her head. "It doesn't matter to me that she's pagan."

"Oh. Then…?"

"…She  _eats_ people, Gabriel."

Ah. Right… right, there was that.

Which led to the small matter of how many humans  _he_ had killed, which Gabriel was certain Eleanor was biting her tongue about for the moment. He wouldn't have even been upset if she'd yelled (he was probably in for a severe talking-to later on); he was too overwhelmed by  _good_ feelings that Gabriel hadn't thought he could ever experience again.

Caught up in a whirlwind of emotion, Gabriel suddenly reached out and pulled Eleanor in close again, the beautiful angel's head resting gently on his shoulder. Their wings had barely removed themselves from each other during the entirety of the conversation, too desperate for contact after fartoo long apart.

 _"There was only ever YOU… my brave, beautiful queen,"_ he whispered to her soul, and Eleanor's golden wings glowed lightly in acknowledgment, wordlessly replying the same.

There was so much to say, but there would be time for that. There was so much to apologize for, so much to ask… so much to tellher, and so much that he'd never be able to put into words. There  _were_ no words for some things, and that was why it was such an incredible feeling to just sit there with her, holding tight like they would never let go.

"Oh," Eleanor suddenly said after a long while, suddenly pulling away with a smile. "Wait a moment." She stepped away, and only now did Gabriel reallyfocus on the surroundings, this little bit of paradise that had been carved out for him. It  _was_ Heaven, though separate, and yet it looked the same… like an alternate version of Heaven tucked away that only he and Eleanor could reach, like one of his pocket dimensions.

It was the nook, complete with lily-scented pool, the cozy benches… and the space on the floor that Eleanor was leaning over now, lightly restoring the very first sigil with quick, graceful dexterity. Gabriel closed his eyes, his heart too full to even breathe, as the distant singing of the stars filled his ears. This song was  _her_ , and in that moment Gabriel was falling in love with her all over again, falling in love to the rhythm of creation.

This place… it was perfection, but he understood what Chuck had meant; his paradise could have been anywhere, as long as Eleanor was there with him.

"Better?" she asked with a smile, as Gabriel swallowed and opened his eyes to give her a weak smile and a nod. He pulled her in again; it was going to be a long time before he'd be willing to let go of her.

Though Gabriel still wanted to be furious with his Father, he had to grudgingly appreciate this paradise that he'd never in a million years expected. The price, apparently, was having to take command of the Heavenly Host someday, though he still wasn't convinced that he would actually do it if he truly had the option not to.

After all, why couldn't Dad just come back and take charge himself? Why should Gabriel have to pick up the slack just because Dad had abandoned them? Of course… the same could be said of the angels, by the humans… and he didhave Ellie back now… maybe he should rein in his irritation with God for a while…

"And maybe we're notas abandoned as you think," Eleanor murmured suddenly, feeling his emotions, his thoughts. There was a soft tenderness in her voice that made Gabriel look at her in confusion.

"Eh?"

She only smiled again, nodding towards something over his shoulder. Gabriel turned a bit, then whirled around the rest of the way in disbelief. "What the-"

But he  _knew_ what this was; he'd seen it before… but the archangel had never expected to see this again in his life. It was a brilliant, pulsating ball of light, swirling like liquid grace. Gabriel and Eleanor both stepped closer, approaching the ball of light that glowed brighter and brighter, impossiblybright like a million suns - the light of pure Creation. Then, quite suddenly, the dazzling light disappeared.

Where it had been, there now lay a tiny form, curled up like a sleeping baby. Two perfect, white, feathery wings spread from its back, fanning out and then folding in. A pure white aura flickered around the little shape, and Gabriel caught his breath in utter awe.

"A fledgling, Gabriel," Eleanor exclaimed joyfully, reaching down and picking up the tiny angel. She smiled, running a gentle finger over its hand until it grabbed hold instinctively. The blazing white wings fluttered slightly, the feathers ruffling, and Gabriel was lost. "The first in thousands of years. Your paradise  _would_ have a fledgling, you softy. Honestly, I don't know how anyone was ever fooled by your I-don't-care-about-anyone routine."

Gabriel didn't respond. How could he? What was there left to say? He couldn't have  _ever_ imagined a happy ending to his situation. Now… now he didn't know what to think, what to feel, what to expect.

But he had Eleanor, and, as he gazed down in wonder at the newly created fledgling, Gabriel knew that he and all of Heaven had just been given the most precious gift of all:

A second chance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did promise y'all a happy ending, after all :) Things finally seem to be okay, which means we've just about reached the end of this little tale! (Ha. Little. Can't believe I ever thought this was going to be a little 4-chapter romance...) Thank you all SO MUCH who've stuck with it to the end, even amid the crazy angst and the times when it seemed there was no possible way for things to ever get better. :)
> 
> Just an epilogue left. I hope you've all enjoyed reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it.


	22. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thanks everyone who commented! ^_^ I hope you've enjoyed this!!  
> Without further ado, the conclusion.

Castiel groaned, rolling over painfully on the grassy field as blood dripped from his nose and mouth. Raphael stood over him, staring at the lesser angel prone on the ground at his feet. Castiel tensed, hand clenching in the cool blades of grass. He knew he was beaten, waiting for the archangel to smite him. The killing blow never came, though.

"Tomorrow you kneel, Castiel," Raphael growled instead, coldly watching as Castiel coughed and spattered blood on the once pristine yard of the autistic man's Heaven. "Or you, and anyone with you, dies."

Raphael was gone with an imperious flap of wings, and Castiel closed his eyes. His body tried to curl in on itself, having a hard time healing from the archangel's attack. As beaten as his body was, though, Castiel's spirit felt even more so.

How was he supposed to stop an archangel?

He'd thought after defeating Lucifer, things would be alright... but now everything had gone so wrong. While Castiel wantedto cling to some arrogant belief that he could still do something about all this… the truth was, he was floundering, in over his head. He could not –  _would_ not – kneel to Raphael, who unlike Michael wasn't even trying to hide from the seraph that this was what  _he_ wanted, not God.

But if he didn't… not only would Raphael kill him, he would kill anyangel who wanted this to stop, which meant Terriel as well. Then Raphael would be unchallenged and he'd simply restart the Apocalypse anyway. The Winchesters would be unprotected, no angelic assistance this time.

The only option was to oppose Raphael, but in his heart, Castiel knew he couldn't take the archangel on. Not by tomorrow, as Raphael's ultimatum indicated.

"Please…" Castiel desperately whispered, not even knowing or caring who he was praying to at this point. "Please, I can't… I- I'm not strong enough. I can't stop him."

His eyes closed, and a spasm of pain wracked the angel's body again, leaving him with another coughing fit. It made Castiel ache to know that his blood was tarnishing the autistic man's paradise, almost as much as it ached to consider his limited options.

"Help me-" Castiel murmured again, cutting off in a groan of pain, before finishing with gritted teeth, "Please, I need  _help_."

"Well, you've come to the right place, then, kiddo."

Castiel's eyes snapped open again at the voice, gasping quietly. His shocked gaze turned upwards; he could only gape, unable to believe what he was seeing, as Gabriel grinned and held out a hand.

"Damn, looks like you really got your ass handed to you," Gabriel went on, raising an eyebrow. "I hope the other guy looks even worse."

Still, the lesser angel said nothing, nor did he take the offered hand... he just stared, gaping. Had… had Raphael perhaps already killed him, without him realizing it? How could he possibly be seeing Gabriel, who he had lost yet again, killed by Lucifer's hand? He'd seen the scorch marks himself, gone back to the hotel as soon as Dean and Sam told him what had happened. Gabriel was dead. Castiel blinked, but the apparition didn't disappear.

Finally, Gabriel rolled his eyes and squatted down. "Close your mouth, you're letting in flies," he advised cheekily, touching two fingers to Castiel's forehead. Instantly, the blood dried up, the wounds healed themselves, and the lesser angel was as good as new. But… that meant…

"You… you're… alive?" Castiel managed to ask, marveling at how real his brother's hands felt as he helped Castiel up to his feet. But it was impossible!

Gabriel looked down at himself, then retorted, "Uh… yeah, kinda looks that way, huh? I just can't get a hang of this whole "dying" thing. Guess we got that in common."

Castiel's throat closed up, eyes starting to burn. "Brother…" he whispered, as he simply grabbed Gabriel up in a fierce hug. He inhaled shakily, holding Gabriel like he'd never let go, far too overwhelmed to say anything else.

Surprised, Gabriel snickered and remarked, "Wow, those Winchesters really haverubbed off on you." He returned the hug without complaint, though, even giving Castiel a little pat on the back. "Okay, kiddo, good to see you, too."

"But… why are you here?" Castiel finally managed to ask, pulling away again as he studied his older brother. "I thought…"

"Yeah, I kinda figured I'd finally bit the dust for good, after Luci," Gabriel agreed, waving his hand glibly. "Turns out I'm precious cargo, though, waytoo valuable to lose, of course…" The archangel paused, looking rather pleased with himself, as Castiel just stared. "But you know what they say, it ain't over 'til the fat lady sings!"

Castiel kept staring, brow furrowed in confusion as he shook his head. "I don't understand," he admitted in perplexity. "Why should the weight of the woman singing be of any significance?"

There was a pause, and the two angels stared at each other. Gabriel blinked, then rolled his eyes.

"Y-eah... anyway..." the archangel went on without answering the question. "He said I'd know when it was time to make my move. And since your prayer just now is the first one I've been able to hear since being back… I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that's now."

"What? Who said that?" Cas was lost, but Gabriel just waved him off.

"Later. So let's hear it, tell me what's got your feathers in a twist."

Castiel was still having a hard time believing he was actually standing there having a conversation with Gabriel at all, but he nodded dazedly and filled his brother in on the whole affair. Gabriel pulled faces as he listened, clearly unimpressed with Raphael's ambitions, but also not appearing all that surprised by them.

"-and now I don't know what to do," Castiel finally admitted softly, staring at the ground. "It seems so hopeless, right when I thought maybe… maybe things were going to be alright. I can't kneelto him, Gabriel, but I also can't beat him."

"Hmmm… maybe not alone."

Castiel's gaze shot up hopefully at the cryptic reply, but before he had a chance to ask what Gabriel meant by that, there was another soft flutter of wings. The lesser angel looked over Gabriel's shoulder, and his jaw dropped.

"Eleanor?"

"Hello, Castiel," the beautiful angel replied with a wide, gentle smile, holding a small bundle close to her. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"I… I don't believe it…"

He could only stare, as the last angel he would have everexpected to see again walked calmly up to stand beside Gabriel. The archangel wrapped an arm around her waist, positively glowing with happiness to see her there, but again seemed unsurprised. Castiel looked between the two of them, at a loss.

"Gabriel, you… you brought her back?" he asked uncertainly. Gabriel only smiled, then turned to look at his soul mate.

"Well… you might say… we brought each other back," he murmured softly as she smiled back. Castiel didn't understand this any more than he'd really understood anything so far, but Gabriel was certainlyreal, and that meant Eleanor must be as well.

The lesser angel exhaled slowly, wondering how many more revelations were waiting to be sprung on him; which was when the bundle Eleanor carried started to squirm. Eleanor looked down, beaming even brighter as she stepped forward.

"Of course, darling, I know you're excited to meet your brother."

"...What?"

"Castiel… say hello to your newest sister. This is Renee."

But… no… this was impossible. Then again, he was starting to think that nothingwas truly impossible anymore. Castiel's head was spinning, hardly daring to believe it as the feathery bundle was brought close enough for him to see. The infant fledgling was still so young that her downy wings weren't even hidden yet. Her eyes were bright as she looked up at Castiel and cooed with delight, reaching towards his face.

"But… there haven't been any fledglings since…"

"Long time, right?" Gabriel asked with a chuckle. "But I thinkthings might be turning back around." He looked at Eleanor, suddenly sighing heavily as he complained, "It's thattime."

Castiel looked back and forth between the two as the fledgling Renee shifted and cooed again, now playing with invisible specks that only she could see. Gabriel and Eleanor seemed to be occupied in some silent conversation between themselves, if their facial expressions were any indication. The entire scenario was so surreal that Castiel was starting to wonder how hard Raphael had hit him.

Perhaps he was hallucinating… that would account for the absurdity of this situation.

"Gabriel," he spoke before he could stop himself, almost unconsciously wanting to assure himself that his brother was truly there at all. Both the archangel and Eleanor looked at him, and Castiel hesitated before hanging his head. "Last time we spoke…" he said, voice low and gravelly, "you… expressed disinterest in leading the angels. But someone hasto, and it can't be me. I don't have Authority, but  _you_  do. I know you don't want to-"

"Boy, you can say thatagain," Gabriel griped. Eleanor shushed him with a look.

"But you… you're the only hope we've got. I don't ask for myself. I ask for  _all_ the angels, for our family." Castiel met his brother's eyes, sincere and desperate. "Gabriel…  _please_. Help us."

For a long time, Gabriel didn't say anything, just regarded Castiel and pursed his lips slightly. It was clear that he was struggling within himself, that he still had obvious misgivings about leadership. The archangel's eyes flicked from Castiel to Eleanor, from tiny Renee to the blood that stained this paradise - angel blood.

Finally, he heaved a sigh and grumbled, "Look,  _if_ I agree to be the ringmaster of this crazy little circus… I'm gonna need a second-in-command that I can trust. It's yourfault I'm even considering this, kiddo, so I think it's only fair that you get stuck with that job."

Castiel stared. "You… you want  _me_ as your second?"

"How are you actually surprised by this? Whaddya say, you gonna do it or not?"

With a blink, Castiel slowly nodded. His heart leaped with hope. Did that mean… did that mean Gabriel would helpthem? Did that mean he would finally take the command he'd been made for? If so, then… then the angels had a chance! "Yes," he whispered gruffly. "Yes! Gabriel… thank you…"

"Yeah, yeah, don't get weepy on me."

Castiel nodded again, swiftly straightening up and trying to force his moist eyes from shedding tears. His heart was pounding, and he sent out a silent but heartfelt prayer of gratitude. They were in for a long and bitter campaign, but now for the first time Castiel believed it was a campaign they might actually win, with Gabriel on their side.

The archangel was smirking, while Eleanor beamed in pride and gave him an approving nod. A blade appeared in Gabriel's hand, and he twirled it nonchalantly, turning to Castiel.

"Come on then, bro," he said. Gabriel's grip on his sword tightened, and he brandished it with a grin and a wiggle of his eyebrows. "We've got work to do."

**The End...?**


End file.
